Rooney's shadow over Beckham and Yorke

SOCCER: Manchester United's former European Cup winners will meet on opposing sides when David Beckham's England face Dwight Yorke's Trinidad and Tobago in the World Cup on Thursday.

Old Trafford's current favourite, Wayne Rooney, could complete the timeline in the unlikely event of England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson deciding the striker was match fit after a broken foot.

Eriksson's men go into the game in Nuremberg looking to follow up Saturday's 1-0 victory over Paraguay with another win that would book them into the second round.

A draw later between Paraguay and Sweden would then ensure England top the group and allow Eriksson to rotate his squad - and notably give Rooney a try-out against the manager's home country on June 20.

In the meantime, the spotlight will fall on Beckham, Yorke and Gary Neville, who all shared in United's famous Champions League night of glory in Barcelona against Bayern Munich in 1999.

"We won Premierships, FA Cups and the European Cup and he was a huge, huge part of that team in that year," Beckham said of Yorke, now 34 and given more of a playmaking role for his country.

"He is a good friend of mine and he is one those people who, whatever happens to him in his life and his career, he has always got a smile on his face."

Beckham, in a rich vein of form and the architect of England's laboured win on Saturday, will also need watching.