FROM traitors to national heroes all in the space of 90 minutes. Isn't it amazing what one game of football can achieve?

I seem to be just about the only journalist in this country who supported the England players to the hilt in the stance they took last week against the FA's bungling of the Rio Ferdinand drug-testing fiasco.

David Beckham and his team-mates were never traitors in the first place.

The England players never threatened to boycott Saturday's Euro 2004 qualifer against Turkey. That alleged threat was made public by the FA's mouthpiece Paul Barber in what I take to be a cynical attempt to deflect attention away from his organisation's monumental mistake in declaring Ferdinand guilty without trial.

There is no way in the world that Becks and his pals would ever refuse to play for their country in a meaningless friendly let alone a match as vitally important as the one they went into at Istanbul's Sukru Saraglu Stadium on Saturday where a place in the European Championship finals was at stake.

But national heroes? That they are. Every last one of them for a performance in the most intimidating of conditions on Saturday evening which made me proud to be English.

Great service

And in a perverse sort of way, the FA's hard-line, unbending chief executive Mark Palios could have done a great service to English soccer...not that he intended to, you understand.

Because the unity and solidarity which the England players displayed during last week's bitter dispute against their employers was there again for all to see in Istanbul on Saturday evening.

And even before a ball had been kicked you knew - you just knew - that this was a bunch of players who would run and fight for each other until they dropped.

Did you notice what Beckham and his teammates did during the barely audible rendition of our National Anthem? Each draped an arm over the shoulder of the player next to him.

A small gesture, perhaps. But to me it spoke volumes. This was a team in the true sense of the word made up of players who were going to prove to everyone back home just how proud they were to be wearing the Three Lions of England on their shirts.

And how courageously and professionally Eriksson's men made their point against a Turkish side who are the undisputed world champions in the black art of dirty tricks and provocation.

If you want an illustration of the distasteful streak which runs right through Turkey's national side, look no further than their Aston Villa centre-back Alpay.

Did you see the expression of pure hatred on Alpay's face when he mocked Beckham after the England skipper had sent his penalty into orbit?

And then to make an obscene remark to Beckham about his mother as the players walked off the pitch at half time? Absolutely despicable.

Beckham promised ahead of the match that he wouldn't get red-carded but he must have come close at that moment.

Had that been me in my 20s, I would have decked Alpay first and worried about the consequences second.

Just as well the match was controlled by Pierlugi Collina. He had a magnificent game and showed exectly why he is widely regarded as the world's best referee, an opinion shared by Beckham himself.

Genius

Calling Beckham and Alpay into his room at half time and asking them to shake hands was a stroke of genius.

For if Mr Collina had allowed that feud to continue into the second half, I very much doubt if either Beckham or Alpay would have been on the pitch at the final whistle.

But let's not dwell any further on a moron like Alpay. He's not worth wasting space on.

Let's concentrate instead on the peformances of the England players because every last one of them did himself and his country proud.

Where to start? Well to my mind, Nicky Butt epitomised eveything that England stood for on that glorious Saturday night.

He was the one-man wall of protection in front of his back four which earned the likes of Beckham, Steven Gerrard and the unbelievably mature Wayne Rooney the space to play their football.

The Manchester United midfielder isn't big on talking - but he doesn't have to be. His tackling, his determination and his controlled agression spoke louder than any words.

If that display hasn't earned him a permanent berth in Eriksson's side then I don't know what will.

But quiet man Butt wasn't the only England player to cover himself in glory in that Istanbul battlefield.

What about the much-maligned Emile Heskey?

Yes we know. Big Emile doesn't score enough goals. But is there are more selfless team man anywhere in this country than the Liverpool striker?

He takes the bumps and the bruises up front without complaint and I lost count of the number of times he popped up in defence to help out when England were under pressure.

A big man with a heart to match.

If his goal-scoring matched his work-rate and his willingness we really would be talking about a world-class star.

Perhaps it is unfair to single out Butt and Heskey for special praise because essentially it was England's performance as a team which took them through to next summer's finals without having to face the lottery of the play-offs.

Right through the back-four there was a "they-shalt-not-pass" mentality which has been missing in many of their recent matches.

Gary Neville might have been unfairly cast as the trouble-maker in last week's dispute with the FA, but the only trouble he caused this time was to the Turkish forwards who could never find a way around him.

And in the light of last week's events and the reason behind the dispute between players and FA, it seems sacrilege to say that England didn't miss Ferdinand against Turkey.

But they didn't and Eriksson is going to have a major selection problem on his hands when Ferdinand is available again after John Terry's sterling performance alongside the equally impressive Sol Campbell on Saturday.

Solidarity? Resolution? A point to prove to the FA and the watching millions back home?

Whatever it was, England had it in spades in Istanbul on Saturday evening.

And if it really was the barney with the FA which motivated Beckham and his team-mates to that sky-high level, might I suggest that Mr Palios upsets the England players on the eve of next summer's European Championship finals.

Becks will be coming back with the trophy in his mitts as sure as eggs are eggs.

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