LONDON _ Tabloids took a rest from Beckham-bashing Monday to praise the England soccer captain for battling physical illness and scoring with a spectacular free kick against Ecuador.

Beckham was sick on the pitch during Sunday's 1-0 victory, providing fodder for newspapers previously critical of his form at the World Cup.

"Here we throw!" the Daily Mirror declared on its front page, adding: "Becks wondergoal wins it, then he's SICK on pitch".

The paper ran a large photo of Beckham and teammate Ashley Cole celebrating the goal, with an inset photo of Beckham vomiting on the pitch.

"Nice and queasy" said the Daily Express, with a photo of Beckham celebrating by himself, then a smaller picture of the skipper with his hand up his throat.

Headlines in The Sun and Daily Mail both read "Queasy does it" while the more restrained Daily Telegraph praised "Beckham the brave."

The Times combined Beckham's vomiting with England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson's change of team tactics for the Ecuador match: "Sven's changes throw up a familiar outcome," said a sports column headline.