DAVID BECKHAM has stressed his desire to reward the nation for their support by winning Euro 2004, while admitting his career would not be complete without an international trophy.

Beckham can picture the scenes which would greet the team at home if they won the European Championships, eclipsing even those which acclaimed the England rugby side in 2003.

However, he knows England can take nothing for granted as they prepare to face Croatia tonight in their final group game, needing a draw to reach the quarter-finals.

Euro 2000, when England beat Germany but then lost to Romania, stands as a clear warning, although they did secure a necessary point in the final group game against Nigeria at the 2002 World Cup.

Then again, the 65,000-capacity Stadium of Light in Lisbon is again set to be packed with England fans, just as it was for the opening tie against France.

"It's incredible. We have three-quarters of the stadium full and it's like playing a home game," observed Beckham.

"That's what pushes the lads on. If we're going through a tough time on the pitch, the fans lift us out of it. They do their job so it's up to us to do our job."

He added: "I'd just love to win it for the whole country. I feel we deserve it as a nation and our fans deserve it.

"The support we get in games is incredible. You never see that anywhere else in the world.

"I'd love to win it just to see the adulation and the atmosphere in London afterwards, seeing all the crowds."

Beckham added: "I've won a lot in my career. I've been lucky enough to play in European Cup finals, FA Cup finals, winning the Premier League and coming second in the world player of the year. But to win something for my country would top it all off for me.

"I've always said that I don't want to regret anything in my career, but there would be something missing if I didn't win anything with England."

Against Croatia, Sven-Goran Eriksson is set to keep faith with the line-up that beat Switzerland 3-0 last Thursday.

He does have four players - Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes and David James - on yellow cards, meaning they would be ruled out of any quarter-final tie if they are booked tonight.

However, while Eriksson will urge calm from all his players - and Rooney especially - any left-over bookings are then wiped out, giving players a clean slate for the knock-out stages.

England's other concern is that Owen Hargreaves has been ruled out of contention for a place on the bench due to an upset stomach.

Sven-Goran Eriksson is more positive about Nicky Butt's chances of making a recovery from injury in time to still play some part in the tournament.

"If we reach the semi-finals, then maybe he could be ready again," added Eriksson, even though Butt was initially ruled out of action for three to four weeks.