Owen and Beckham share scoring mission

If England fail to score in the first half of today’s FIFA World Cup™ fixture with Paraguay in the FIFA World Cup Stadium Frankfurt, their supporters will start to worry that they'll be unable to launch their Group B campaign with a victory.

England's last ten FIFA World Cup fixtures have produced ten goals in all – all of which were scored inside the first 45 minutes. Their last second-half strike came on 22 June 1998 in Toulouse when Michael Owen scored seven minutes after appearing as a substitute.

With 36 goals for his country, Owen is hoping to edge nearer England’s all-time record haul of 49 established by Sir Bobby Charlton in 106 international appearances. Gary Lineker (48 goals/80 caps) lies second in the rankings and only Jimmy Greaves (44 goals/57 caps) stands between Owen and the top two.

Owen's goal record in FIFA World Cup finals is impressive – 4 in 9 appearances, two of which were as a substitute.

David Beckham has scored twice in previous FIFA World Cup matches but the England captain is on a bad run of goalscoring form. He has not scored in nine internationals and has only one in 13 (against Azerbaijan on 30 March 2005). He enjoyed a prolific run of six in eight games between October 2002 and September 2003 but in the subsequent 27 games, the England captain scored only three times.

However when Beckham's 31 direct assists are added to his tally of 16 goals it’s clear he has managed to have a major influence on the result in every other game he has played for his country.