David Beckham believes England must go all out for victory in Istanbul this Saturday night.
A draw against Turkey would suffice for England and send them through to Euro 2004 at the expense of their hosts, who would enter a play-off.
But Beckham, who says he will have recovered from an ankle injury in time to captain England in their final Group 7 match, will impress on his team-mates the dangers of playing for a draw.
“We want to go for a win, it’s a simple as that,” said Beckham.
Having turned in a series of impressive performances at new club Real Madrid, Beckham has again proved his powers of recovery by quickly bouncing back from the ankle injury sustained against Valencia 10 days ago.
“I’ve had a few problems with the injury but that is not going to be any problem for England,” Beckham added.
His role has altered at the Bernabeu to what it had been at Manchester United until his summer departure, with Beckham now employed in a central midfield role.
“I’m feeling very comfortable playing in the middle of the pitch,” he said.
There was concern when Beckham limped off late in Sunday night’s match against Espanyol, which Madrid won 2-1.
But Beckham brushed off fears that he would have to miss the trip to Turkey as a consequence.
Revealing he had suffered a dead leg early on against Espanyol, Beckham added: “It was aching at the end of the match but once again it is not a problem.”
While Beckham is raring to go, striker Michael Owen’s prospects of starting the match remain shrouded in doubt.
He suffered an ankle injury in Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat by Arsenal on Sunday and, although X-rays showed he had not suffered a break, Owen’s recovery is being closely monitored by national team coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.
On Owen, Beckham said: “Michael has a 50-50 chance of making it and of course we want him fit for the game.”
And with the issue of off-pitch violence rearing its ugly head before the game, with the English FA urging fans not to travel, Beckham was confident the game would go off without a hitch.
“I think the supporters’ issue will be sorted out,” said Beckham. “And we just have to concentrate on the football.”