It was supposed to be all about David Beckham - a night for settling scores four years on from his personal nadir.

But with every towering header and crucial interception, Rio Ferdinand did more to upstage his goalscoring captain.

Sven-Goran Eriksson wanted 11 leaders on the pitch for a match where he would discover who was big enough for the task of taking on the World Cup favourites.

Well, as the England penalty area resembled the Alamo in the second half, Ferdinand truly was Big in Japan.

He does not have the pop star wife or showbiz lifestyle, like Beckham.

Neither does he enjoy the sort of glamorous profile that goes hand-in-hand with scoring goals, such as Michael Owen.

But no-one can now deny that Ferdinand is jostling for position alongside the two golden boys of English football as one of the country's precious few world-class talents.

The defender was a novice when Glenn Hoddle took him to France '98 as a 19-year-old.

Fast-forward four years, and Ferdinand delivered the sort of display yesterday that completed his metamorphosis from boy to man in footballing terms.

If there was a header to win, he won it; if a dangerous cross needed clearing, Ferdinand applied a cultured boot to the ball ahead of the Argentina attackers.

While the loss of Alan Shearer has left a gaping hole in the England team, the search for Tony Adams's replacement has been even more frantic and desperate.

But after giving England fans tantalising glimpses of his talent over the last couple of years, Ferdinand transformed his potential into genuine ability yesterday.

One cannot give him higher praise than to say it would not be an insult to the memory of Bobby Moore, one of Ferdinand's predecessors at Upton Park, to compare his display in Sapporo with some of the England World Cup-winning captain's finest hours.

Calm and composed in possession, Ferdinand is the antithesis of the archetypal English centre-half.

And after ridding himself of a fatal flaw in his game - his tendency to make one bad mistake in every match - Ferdinand has completed his transition from West Ham player to England defender via Leeds.

Alongside him, Sol Campbell - a comparative veteran at 27 - won his fair share of challenges, ensuring that Gabriel Batistuta's impact on the game was almost nil.

Campbell had one hairy moment when he allowed Mauricio Pochettino to head goalwards from just six yards. But to pick up on one slight mis-calculation after 90 minutes of heroism would be nit-picking in the extreme.

Ferdinand was faultless. So was Nicky Butt, making his comeback from injury and casting a massive shadow over Manchester United teammate Juan Sebastian Veron.

Butt does the donkey work in a United team jam-packed with show ponies. Quiet and unassuming off the pitch, he rarely gets the credit he deserves.

Not any more. He was magnificent, snuffing out countless Argentina attacks and providing the springboard for England's raids.

Veron, all £28.1million of him, was earmarked as the dangerman as he tried to show United what they've missed out on during his disastrous first season in the Premiership.

Yet he was atrocious yesterday, and it was no surprise when he was substituted at half-time.

Never mind Veron wanting to prove a point. It was Butt who resembled a man on a mission, proving the perfect defensive shield in front of England's back four.

Argentina were poor. They were hustled and harried out of their stride by England, and Batistuta looked like someone for whom this tournament was one step too far.

Their defence was petrified whenever Owen went near the ball, and even the introduction of Pablo Aimar for Veron failed to unlock the England defence.

But, frankly, who cares? All the pent-up frustration from 1986 and 1998 came pouring out of England's long-suffering fans yesterday, be they in Sapporo or Seaton Carew.

They might not win the World Cup, but with Ferdinand and Butt in top form they'll give it a bloody good go.