David Beckham, who is just one match away from winning his coveted 100th England cap, admitted yesterday he has his work cut out to be fit enough to play for his country again.
England manager Fabio Capello overlooked him for his first match in charge against Switzerland earlier this month on the grounds that the 32-year-old was not match fit.
Now Beckham is racing against time to prove his worth in time for England's friendly against France on March 26 in Paris.
PHOTO: EPA
"I would love to reach the 100 caps, but I have to be physically ready to be part of the team," the former England captain said here where his club LA Galaxy are on a pre-season training camp. "All I've done is training. I have no match fitness."
Beckham and the Galaxy arrived in South Korea on Tuesday and will play an exhibition match on Saturday against FC Seoul at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.
If he makes 100 caps, Beckham would be only the fifth Englishman to achieve the feat.
He said he understood Capello's decision not to pick him against Switzerland.
"I've played for Capello before, and he's a great manager," Beckham said. "He is a manager that will pick players that are fit enough. I understand he selected others who played more games."
Capello has assured Beckham that he still figures in his plans for the England team, provided he can prove his fitness.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory. Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring. The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
RSS