England captain David Beckham said playing France would be one of their hardest games at Euro 2004 but said they would show no fear during their opening match.

　　Beckham maintained that France are not unbeatable, as their group stage elimination at the 2002 World Cup proved, even if he has the highest respect for them. The teams meet at Lisbon's Stadium of Light on June 13 in a Group B fixture.

　　"People will always look at the France team and say they're unbeatable but they are definitely beatable," he declared. "It will be one of the hardest games in the competition, but it's up to our players. We're looking forward to the game and we're not scared of any team or any players."

　　"We've got a team of young players and they're not worried about going into any game and how good the French team are on the day.

　　"They're just concentrating on winning the game. We can take something from France being beaten at the World Cup, although I'm sure they will be playing a lot differently now.

　　"They've got players who have been unbelievable for their clubs this season, such as Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Claude Makelele, but Zinedine Zidane realizes we've got a great squad of players, just like they do.

　　"I think it's a lot better to be playing France first, rather than second or third, as we don't want to let Thierry get his legs going!"

　　While France lost two of their three opening games in South Korea, England reached the quarter-finals, only to lose to Brazil.

　　Beckham nevertheless observed how much stronger England are now, with the addition of Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville, while he and Michael Owen are now fully fit.

　　Then there is Scholes, one of a handful of world-class players in the England side, and his talent is certainly appreciated by Beckham's team-mates at Real.

　　"He's always one of those people others talk about," said Beckham. "Even playing at Real Madrid, the players always say to me 'what's he like'? They respect him as a footballer and to have that respect from some of those players is great.

　　"He has a great importance to Manchester United, the manager has always said that. He always creates space and gets into the right places at the right time.

　　"He's always a major threat. He hasn't scored for England for a while, but if he scores in these championships, people will forget that straight away."

　　Scholes' goal drought for England actually extends to an incredible three years, with his last strike for his country having come in Greece on June 6, 2001.

　　Since then, he has failed to find the net in 25 international appearances, even though he has continued scoring freely at club level.

　　"It's quite unbelievable as he does get into spaces where he can score in nearly every game,'' observed former United team-mate Beckham.

　　"It would annoy me if I scored as many goals as Scholesy and hadn't scored for a while for England but he'll put that right."

　　As for the trio who did not make it to the 2002 World Cup, Beckham added: "Wayne Rooney is young but he plays like a player with Alan Shearer's experience.

　　"He doesn't care about who he is playing against. He'll compete against the toughest defenders and that is a great testament to someone of his age. He's not just a goalscorer, but he's got a lot of heart there.

　　"Steven Gerrard has been one of the best players in the Premiership this season. You need to have ball-winners and ball-players like that in your team.

　　"What he's done for Liverpool this season has been amazing, he's probably even surprised himself by how his standards have been in every game.

　　"Gary has also had a good season, scoring a couple of goals - maybe the manager will put him up front at some point! He's come out with a trophy so to end a season like that is a boost for the team."

　　With Sol Campbell in defence and Owen up front, England have plenty of reasons to be confident ahead of their clash against France, believes Beckham.

　　"People are more excited about this competition than any other one I've been involved in. We've got a young team but with a lot of experience as well," he added.

　　"If we get a bit of luck and stay fit, then I think we'll have a great chance. Expectations in the team are already very high."