McClaren had left Beckham out of the squad since the World Cup, but even before the heroics in Tallinn, he set up England's goal on his return in the 1-1 draw against Brazil on Friday.

"That's three of the four goals he's set up, and that's why he's in team," McClaren said.

"David Beckham is a very very good player, and he deserves to be in team, as he's shown in last two games."

He refused to be drawn, though, on whether he regretted leaving Beckham out for 11 months, or what will happen when Beckham leaves Real Madrid for LA Galaxy in the summer.

Beckham was bullish about his future.

"I will definitely be at the Euros," he said.

"I believe I can carry on playing for a long time. The Galaxy will do everything possible to keep me playing for my country. Things can change, but I'm proud of playing for my country. I just love playing football."

Estonia coach Jelle Goes also highlighted Beckham as the difference between the sides.

"It was clear from the first half that England were trying to find Beckham, who was putting in great crosses," he said.

"That's why Beckham's back in the team - two great deliveries and the game is closed.

"Beckham at Real Madrid has started to play marvellously, and he has returned to the national team; then you see what happens. The team makes good use of Beckham waiting there on the line."

Beckham was unmarked as he crossed for the second and third goals - the first a Peter Crouch header, the second a sidefoot from Michael Owen - but Goes was critical only about the defending for the first, as Joe Cole was allowed to spin onto a Crouch flick.

"But then," he reflected, "how do you defend against an Eiffel Tower like Crouch?"

McClaren was delighted with the professionalism of his side's display.

"We won that game in the first 20-25 minutes," he said.

"We started on the front foot. We had purpose. We won the ball quickly, we won our challenges, and we had no real problem with them. We had our chances, it really was just a matter of time.

"The first goal is key and once we got that, our confidence grew. I wouldn't say we've turned the corner, but the performances have shown what can do. We need to maintain that, but we've got ourselves back in group."

England remain fourth in Group E, but are now just three points behind joint-leaders Croatia and Israel.

"Looking at the table, it's in our hands," McClaren said. "Four of the last five games are at Wembley."

For Owen, this was a record-breaking night, his 23rd competitive goal for England taking him past the previous best set by Gary Lineker.

"It's obviously nice to score goals and to break that record is fantastic," he said.

"Lineker is an England great. He was my idol when I was a kid. It's lovely to beat him."

Goes, meanwhile, announced he will not renew his contract when it expires in November.

"I have been here seven years," he said. "I had a hard meeting with the president of the federation, Aivar Pohlak, and we decided it was time for me to go."