Back in the England squad

Beckham currently has 97 caps and is chasing a century at least before retirement. Time will tell whether this will be possible, but not qualifying for the Euro2008 championships could strike a fatal blow to that ambition.

Steve McClaren as expected, at noon today named Beckham in his squad for the friendly against Austria (16th Nov) and the qualifier against Croatia (21st Nov). Of course, it could all be over if Israel succumb to Russia at home on 17th November. In which case, it will be interesting to see how the politics plays out. Beckham will undoubtedly want to play, whether the Galaxy will want him to play may be a different story, especially with some lucrative exhibition matches on the horizon.

It will be best all round of course if there is something to play for on the 21st, the atmosphere is going to be a bit flat otherwise, and it will probably be the last time that McClaren will take charge of the England squad. If courage and determination are required, the England squad only need to look to the England Rugby team for inspiration, a team who managed to reach the World Cup Final against all the odds earlier this year.

In other squad news, Rooney, Ferdinand and John Terry are all out with injuries.

England squad: Robinson, Carson, James, P Neville, Campbell, Richards, Brown, Lescott, Shorey, Bridge, A Cole, Beckham, Wright-Phillips, Bentley, Gerrard, Lampard, Hargreaves, Barry, J Cole, Downing, Young, Smith, Crouch, Defoe, Owen.