England deny Gerrard, Beckham rift

England have hit back angrily at reports of a row between Steven Gerrard and David Beckham.

Gerrard and Beckham were said to have clashed in training before the Sweden game. But an England spokesman said today: "It is absolute rubbish. The players involved don't understand where it has come from."

Boss Sven-Goran Eriksson is proud of the camaraderie he has fostered within the World Cup camp. He claims to have never known a better team-spirit and expects the bond of togetherness to become one of England's big strengths as the competition develops.

Eriksson gave his players the day off on Wednesday as the team did not arrive back at their hotel until the early hours of the morning following a flight from Cologne straight after the 2-2 draw with Sweden.

Most of the players spent the day with their families relaxing at the team hotel or wandering around nearby Baden-Baden. They will be back on their Buhlertal training pitch today to begin preparation for Sunday's last-16 clash with Ecuador, in Stuttgart.

Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville are expected to do some training after positive scans on their injuries on Wednesday. Neville, who has missed the last two games with a calf injury, will do some light "field work" with the England physios.

He has not trained for a week and will not do the full session with his team-mates. The experienced Manchester United defender is struggling to be fit for Ecuador but club-mate Ferdinand has a better chance.

He suffered a slight groin strain against Sweden and came off in the second half. A scan showed no damage but Ferdinand will be careful not to aggravate the injury ahead of Sunday's game.

Eriksson's squad is down to 22 players since Michael Owen's cruciate knee ligament injury forced him out of the World Cup.