Beckham dropped from England team
Speculation is rife that England manager Steve McClaren has dropped David Beckham and goalkeeper Paul Robinson for tomorrow morning’s (AEST) make or break European qualifier against Croatia at Wembley.
Think Croatia is good value at $7.20? Click here to bet with Lasseters
London’s The Sun newspaper is today reporting McClaren has made the decision official to axe the pair, despite stating publicly ‘experience is key in big games’.
McClaren is said to be unhappy with Beckham’s performance in last week’s friendly against Austria, despite the LA Galaxy star providing the corner for Peter Crouch to header the only goal of the game. Shaun Wright-Phillips is set to take Beckham’s spot in the starting XI.
Robinson’s position is even less assured, with his worst career moment coming in the 2-nil defeat to Croatia in Zagreb. Inexperienced Aston Villa keeper Scott Carson is said to be in favour.
“I’m not revealing the team at all,” McClaren said.
“The players might have an idea, but they won’t know until 6.30 tonight.”
A draw would be good enough for England to make the the Euro 2008 finals, thanks to Russia’s unexpected 2-1 loss in Israel last week.
The reports of Beckham’s axing would be music to the ears of the Football Federation in Australia, with next week’s sell-out exhibition between Sydney FC and LA Galaxy at Telstra Stadium depending solely on the appearance of Beckham.
Subscribe to The Serve by Email
No comments yet.