David Beckham passes on Sir Alex Ferguson advice to Trent Alexander-Arnold

David Beckham offered some wise words to Liverpool talent Trent Alexander-Arnold when he visited England's training base in Qatar.

Beckham made an appearance at England's headquarters ahead of their World Cup quarter-final against France on Saturday night. The former Three Lions skipper knows what it's like to lose that fixture, suffering defeats by Brazil in 2002 and Portugal in 2006.

Beckham was spotted talking to Alexander-Arnold about free kicks. The Manchester United legend was one of the greatest free-kick takers of his generation and famously scored from a set piece against Greece to help England qualify for the 2002 World Cup.

The former winger told Alexander-Arnold, who is one of the finest dead-ball specialists in the Premier League, about how legendary United manager Sir Alex Ferguson kept him on the right track. Ferguson coached Beckham during his time at Old Trafford.

"The moment he saw me off a little bit with either my run-up or the smoothness of me kicking it, he pulled me back in," Beckham said of Ferguson. "He knew exactly what I was doing wrong. I just kept doing the same thing over and over again, I never changed it [my technique]."

Alexander-Arnold then asked Beckham which side he preferred to aim for. Speaking in a video shared by England's official Twitter account, he replied: "I scored one against Jamo [David James] at Anfield where I just whipped it over the wall. To be fair, I liked both sides."

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Beckham went on to tell Alexander-Arnold to keep practicing his free kicks, telling him "it's so important", before giving the upcoming star a huge confidence boost. "You're obviously doing it [well], so just keep doing whatever you're doing," said Beckham.

Beckham also said hello to Gareth Southgate and the rest of his squad during his visit. The England boss handed his former team-mate a shirt that contained his "legacy number", which confirms he is the 1,078 man to represent the Three Lions since the 19th century.

Beckham was stunned by the gesture. He hugged Southgate and said: "Amazing, that's a special one that. That's special. Thank you. Thanks for letting me come down, it's good to see the lads. I'm here, so anytime you want me to come down and have a kick around!"

Callum Wilson, James Maddison, Harry Kane, Harry Maguire, Declan Rice and Jack Grealish were among those to speak to Beckham during the training session. "Sorry to interrupt, can I have a picture with you?" asked Bukayo Saka in a heart-warming moment.

Beckham is in Qatar as an ambassador after signing a 10-year contract. The multi-million-pound deal has been criticised due to Qatar's poor human rights record. For example, same-sex relationships are illegal and women's rights are curbed in the Arab country.

If England beat France on Saturday night, they will play either Portugal or Morocco in the semi-finals. Portugal hammered Switzerland 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals, while Morocco pulled off one of the shocks of the World Cup by beating Spain on penalties.

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