IT was not quite a pre-election landslide but the dramatic swing in England's fortunes continued as Sven-Goran Eriksson proved, appropriately enough in Greece, that he retains the Midas touch.

And as Eriksson became the first England coach to secure five wins at the start of his reign, David Beckham provided the perfect answer to those who had thrown missiles at him by scoring his third goal in four games.

Above all, however, England have finished the season in fundamentally better shape than they started it under Kevin Keegan.

Paul Scholes put England on the path to victory with his 13th international goal.

But the game also revealed signs that Emile Heskey could yet fill the left-sided void, while Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole were inspirational figures at the back.

The well-deserved victory ensured England will almost certainly at least finish second but, as far as winning the group is concerned, it may now all come down to a one-off game against Germany again.

England's next qualifying game away in Munich on September 1 could be the group decider, even if Eriksson's side still need to improve their goal difference.

The Germans' weekend draw against Finland may have reopened the door to first place, but their 2-0 win in Albania last night ensured a failure to beat Greece would slam it shut again for England.

Never mind voter apathy in Britain, the turn-out in the Olympic Stadium was hardly impressive either, with the ground at best two-thirds full.

However, water bottles were being hurled at Beckham whenever he took corners and the England captain was seen holding his head at one point.

With the same line-up that started against Mexico, apart from the return of David Seaman in goal, England were looking for a similarly impressive opening.

Their start may not have been as spectacular as the 4-0 friendly win in Derby, with their finishing letting them down in the first half, but the same fundamental qualities of passing, movement and energy were still there.

With Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard growing in stature with each game as the spine of the side, Robbie Fowler linked the team together impressively as he darted intelligently into space, laying off the ball time and time again into the path of his colleagues.

Heskey, who kept his place on the left flank ahead of Steve McManaman - a considerable blow for the Real Madrid midfielder - was the first to threaten, but as he was about to fire in an effort on goal, he was intercepted.

Greece attacked only sporadically, although Angelos Basinas did send a powerful long-range effort just over the bar and Cole had to be alert to produce a superb covering tackle.

Otherwise, Ferdinand let nothing past him and with Beckham's long-range passing superb, England kept their approach play patient in probing for openings before striking at pace.

Gerrard's whipped cross was met by Fowler only for the keeper to superbly tip his header over the bar, while Beckham struck the side-netting with a free-kick.

Fowler then sent through Michael Owen, who was spinning off the back of the Greek defence regularly, with his pace taking him clear only to slice his shot just wide of the near post.

Otherwise, England were just failing to beat the offside trap, but they had far more to contend with immediately after the break.

Seaman bravely denied Zisis Vryzas although the flag was raised in any case, but that at least brought the crowd to life as flares lit up the arena and it served to bring a spark to the Greek side as well.

England were no longer being allowed the time on the ball that they had previously enjoyed, and were finally being stretched at the back and a few bad-tempered clashes gave the match an edge.

To England's credit, however, they stood firm under the pressure both on and off the pitch.

After Heskey had threatened with one powerful run and just failed to reach a free-kick by Beckham, who also saw a shot deflected just over the top, the Liverpool forward inspired his side to break the deadlock.

Phil Neville broke forward before slipping a pass to Heskey as he cut inside from the left and rather than shooting, he unselfishly played the ball into the path of Scholes, the arch predator, to slide home.

When Greece hit back, Cole was alive to the danger after a rare slip by Ferdinand and England came again with renewed confidence.

McManaman and Alan Smith replaced Heskey and Fowler, but it was the England skipper who sealed victory with a flourish.

Having himself been fouled, Beckham - who scored just once in his first 38 caps - continued the run of scoring which began soon after he took over the captaincy with a superb free-kick which left the keeper rooted to the spot.

It was a fitting end to a season in which England look to have turned the corner. At last, there is a feel-good factor surrounding the national side again.

l The odds about England qualifying for the final stages of the World Cup have been cut from 4/11 to 2/7 by William Hill who have also cut the odds about England winning Group Nine from 5/1 to 4/1 although Germany are hot favourites at 1/7