John Terry takes break from training at Vale do Lobo in Portugal on Wednesday. (AFP)

There was good news on three fronts for Sven-G?ran Eriksson last night as David Beckham showed his best form for Real Madrid, scoring twice in the 3-4 defeat away to Seville.

Despite the season-ending reversal, after leading 2-0, the Spanish giants claimed the second automatic Champions League place from La Liga because Valencia, two points behind in third place, were beaten 1-2 away to Osasuna.

With Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney making big strides towards fitness for the World Cup finals, Beckham joined up with his England teammates on Wednesday fit and brimming with confidence.

The England captain got on the scoresheet with a 35-yard free kick and scored the second through the goalkeeper’s legs as he signed off the season for Real with his first brace in Spain.

Beckham started the game with strapping around his right knee as a precaution after a strain had prevented him training at the weekend, but he looked to be fully fit as he put Real in the driving seat against Seville, the Uefa Cup winners.

Meanwhile, in Vale do Lobo, on Portugal’s Algarve, Owen and Rooney were making good progress in their efforts to recover from foot injuries.

Less than three weeks after fracturing a metatarsal playing for Manchester United, Rooney is receiving ever-more positive medical bulletins that suggest he may be fit for England’s final group game against Sweden, in Cologne on June 20.

Owen has made only one brief appearance for Newcastle United since suffering a similar injury on New Year’s Eve against Tottenham Hotspur, but he, too, gave Eriksson cause for optimism on Tuesday when he impressed the England medical staff by completing the first full session at the pre-tournament training camp.

Owen said in The Times on Tuesday that he is “surprised to see people list me as a big doubt for the tournament”, adding that “if there was a game tomorrow, I would want to play in it”.

Despite his relative inactivity for Newcastle, Owen is expected to play in a B international against Belarus a week on Thursday ? possibly alongside Theo Walcott ? before the final warm-up games against Hungary and Jamaica at Old Trafford.