LONDON — There's only one reason why David Beckham should return to the England team to face France in next week's soccer friendly, and it's not a good enough reason.
The Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder has made 99 appearances for his country, but giving him a place on the team just to reach the landmark of 100 would be an insult to the other players striving to make their mark under coach Fabio Capello.
Capello rightly overlooked Beckham for his first game in charge against Switzerland last month because the Major League Soccer season had long finished and the former England captain wasn't playing competitive soccer.
He was back in action for the Galaxy in a pre-season friendly against FC Dallas on Saturday and Capello, who chooses his squad for the France game on Thursday, sent his assistant to watch him in action and assess his fitness.
The fact that Franco Baldini didn't even speak to Beckham doesn't bode well for the 32-year-old midfielder.
"I've not had a chance to speak to Franco Baldini," Beckham said after the 0-0 draw. "Obviously I realize he was there. I hope he enjoyed the game.
"He obviously came to see how my fitness and form is and it's only natural that's going to happen. I just have to go and perform and play the balls I can play and show that I am fit enough."
Baldini saw a low-key Beckham performance with the ball but a fiery outburst off it. He didn't have a shot at goal but set up chances with two trademark long passes.
In the 87th minute, Beckham got a yellow card for dissent and teammates had to pull him away from two Dallas players after a shouting match.
If that's enough to get him a recall, then England must be in a sorry state.
Capello was recruited in December after England failed to qualify for this year's European Championship in Austria and Switzerland. Now the coach who guided AC Milan, AS Roma, Juventus and Real Madrid to multiple titles has to use his tough management style to get England to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
That should not mean selecting a player, no matter how talented he is, simply because he has a landmark to reach.
Capello, who coached Beckham at Real Madrid last season, knows enough about the player's ability to decide whether he should be in the team on merit. But the Italian, who watched his team beat Switzerland 2-1 in his debut, wants to know more about the other stars he hopes will take England to the next World Cup.
That means taking a look at the likes of Chelsea's Shaun Wright-Phillips, Blackburn's David Bentley and Arsenal's Theo Walcott, who regularly play in Beckham's position on the right wing.
They may not have Beckham's ability to stroke long passes virtually onto the toes of his teammates or match his ability to score from long range, swerving free kicks. But they can beat defenders with pace and dribbling skills — something Beckham has never been able to do — and represent England's future, rather than its past.
"I've never been the sort of player who will go past a defender with my pace," Beckham said. "But give me five yards and I'll put the ball in the places where someone will want it."
Beckham's desire to keep playing for his country is not in question either.
The former Manchester United star captained England 57 times and no one doubted his commitment to the team.
Which is why he may have to wait a little longer for his 100th appearance, if it ever comes.
Because the team failed to make it to Euro 2008, England has no competitive games until September when it begins qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. But it is close to finalizing two more friendlies at the end of May and early June, one of them possibly against the United States at Wembley.
Beckham making his 100th appearance against the Americans, after a few months of playing competitive soccer in the United States, may be something Capello couldn't turn down.
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