STEVE McClaren last night claimed that David Beckham's second-half assist was a "fitting" end to a dramatic week that has seen the former England captain return from the international wilderness.

Beckham marked his first international appearance for almost a year with the right-wing cross that enabled John Terry to score England's first goal at the new Wembley with a powerful downward header.

Brazilian substitute Diego spoiled the home side's party with a close-range equaliser in stoppage time, but McClaren felt that Beckham's earlier intervention was the perfect way for the 32-year-old to cap a whirlwind week.

"It was a fitting way for things to happen," said the England boss, who will now turn his attention to Wednesday night's crucial European Championships qualifier in Estonia. "We thought we'd have a chance of scoring with set-plays, and we nearly did once or twice before we actually broke the deadlock. His delivery was exceptional, and John Terry doesn't miss from there.

"Many people questioned the decision (to recall Beckham) and there has been a great debate about it this week. But we picked David Beckham because of how he plays on the field and, since the New Year, he has been fit and strong.

"It was fitting that he had a hand in the goal, it's just a shame we couldn't get a win to go with it."

Nevertheless, England's much-improved showing augurs well for this week's all-important trip to Tallinn.

Last night's match might not have ended in a win but, with an industrious England largely negating Brazil's much-vaunted attacking threat, McClaren felt it was the perfect preparation for Wednesday's much-win match with Estonia.

"I thought we looked like a team," said the former Middlesbrough manager, who confirmed that John Terry and Joe Cole would be fit for this week's game despite picking up minor knocks. "We've talked about shape and attitude a lot this week, and I thought we showed it.

"The key to the performance was the amount of challenges and tackles that we won. We defended well as a team and we broke well as a team. Everyone did their job."

McClaren's only grumble was the smattering of boos that accompanied Frank Lampard's departure when he was replaced by Michael Carrick in the 88th minute.

"That was disappointing because I don't like to see that with any of the players," he admitted. "But Frank's a tough kid and he's been through criticism like that before.

"Many people doubt that he and Steven Gerrard can play together, but I think they proved they could do it against a top-class team. They played with discipline. They had the most important job of everybody, and they did it very well."