England's David Beckham acknowledges the crowd after Portugal defeated England in their World Cup 2006 quarter-final soccer match in Gelsenkirchen July 1, 2006. [Reuters]

David Beckham quit on Sunday as England captain after almost six years in the job in the wake of their World Cup quarter-final defeat by Portugal.

The England midfielder, looking on the verge of tears, read out a statement announcing he would step down with the change of manager as Sven-Goran Eriksson hands over to Steve McClaren.

Beckham said former caretaker England manager Peter Taylor had given him "the greatest honour of my career ... and fulfilling my childhood dream" by appointing him as captain in November 2000.

After being captain for 58 of his 95 England caps, Beckham said: "I feel the time is right to pass on the armband.

"As we enter a new era under Steve McClaren, it has been an honour and a privilege to have captained our country and I want to stress that I wish to continue to play for England.

"And I look forward to helping both the new captain and Steve McClaren in any way I can."

Beckham said England's players were all hit hard by Saturday's exit against Portugal after a penalty shootout with their match finishing 0-0 after extra time.