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David Beckham was out celebrating with his England teammates after beating Belarus 3-0 at Wembley.
But while he was England's man of the match, it seems the footballer is less than popular across the Atlantic.
In a sign of his dramatic fall from favour, he has been named one of the biggest sporting flops ever seen in America.
The Los Angeles Galaxy star came in the top ten of what one U.S. magazine called the biggest 'busts, choke artists'.
| 'it was like Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize after eight months as president' |
U.S. based Maxim magazine said Beckham's move to the Los Angeles team was nothing short of a 'catastrophe'.
After all the publicity about his ?125m move, it said the former Manchester United star has failed miserably to make football - or soccer as it is called in the US - more attractive to fans.
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It said: 'Three seasons into what was supposed to be the magic bullet that finally made soccer relevant (i.e. profitable, interesting, televised) in the U.S., David Beckham's much publicised move to MLS and his grotesquely huge contract are nothing short of a catastrophe.'
The magazine highlights the recent pitch confrontation between the 35-year-old former Manchester United star and fans who were angry at his part time move to AC Milan.
Beckham was jeered and booed when he returned to the team after a spell on loan to the top Italian side. He will head back to Italy in January when the U.S. season is over.
| 'David Beckham's much publicised move to MLS (is) nothing short of a catastrophe' |
The magazine points outs that attendances at LA Galaxy games are down by nearly 25 per cent - and the team wins more frequently when Beckham is not in the starting line up.
The only positive comment the men's magazine has to make about Beckham is that 'he still looks good in his skivvies'.
But the damning judgement doesn't seem to have upset Beckham. He visited a series of London bars with football agent and best friend Dave Gardner, staying out until 3am.
It came as rare opportunity for Beckham to let his hair down as he is usually accompanied by his wife Victoria on social occasions since his alleged affair with Rebecca Loos in 2004.
The father-of-three started his night at upmarket restaurant Nobu, before going on to exclusive club Bungalow 8. He finally left at 3.15am. And he certainly didn't get much sleep because hours later at 7.45am he was seen arriving at Heathrow.
He was making the trip back to Los Angeles to join his wife and their three children.
After the match, England manager Fabio Capello invited the 55 players he has called into his squads over the past 23 months to celebrate the team's World Cup qualification.
Beckham, who made a 30-minute appearance on the pitch, was awarded man of the match by ITV pundit Steve Bruce, who hailed him as a high impact player.
This was despite him not scoring a goal, with Peter Crouch getting two in the back of the net and Shaun Wright-Phillips scoring the third.
Following the match, Capello was said to be 'surprised' that Beckham was given the man of the match award.
'I just thought it was like Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize after eight months as president,' he allegedly said. 'He gets the man of the match after 30 minutes here!'
But after being allowed to play, Beckham clearly wanted to get out on the town to celebrate. He is desperate to play his fourth World Cup in South Africa next year, as is Michael Owen, who watched from the subs bench.
Manchester United striker Owen wants to prove to Capello and England that he can finally put an end to a series of injury setbacks which has scuppered his plans to add to his 40 international goals.
Beckham is also aware that he has a lot to prove and admitted last night he still cannot be sure of his World Cup place despite being '95 per cent' sure of a loan move to AC Milan from LA Galaxy.
He said: 'We all have to prove that we want to be in the squad and in the team for every game, for every qualifier and every friendly.
'Every one of these players is so hungry and we want to be out there. That move to Milan is close. I've always said I want to go back there if they want me.
'Milan are still saying they do. It's 95 per cent done, very close, so I can't see it not happening now.' - Daily Mail
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