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McClaren defends Beckham call
26/08/2007 14:10 - (SA)
London - England boss Steve McClaren has defended his decision to call-up David Beckham for international duty despite the midfielder putting in a 10 000-mile round trip from America and having to play two matches in 24 hours.
Beckham completed the full 90 minutes at Wembley on Wednesday as England slipped to a 2-1 defeat against Germany, before doing the same again for Los Angeles Galaxy 24 hours later, again experiencing the losing feeling, 3-0 to Chivas.
"It would have been daft for us not to bring David over," said McClaren.
"He needed a full 90 minutes, especially at this level. It was good preparation for the (Euro 2008) games against Israel and Russia in two weeks' time.
"We wanted to expose him to that quality pace of game and he also created chances for us."
Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas has expressed concern about the amount of miles Beckham will be required to travel over the next few months as he combines his commitments to both club and country.
Another game has now been added to the schedule following confirmation England will tackle European Championship co-hosts Austria in a friendly in Vienna on November 16.
While that trip will not impact on Beckham too much given the Major League Soccer season ends in October, there are concerns about the 32-year-old's well-being.
Given England are facing five crucial qualifiers over the next three months which will determine whether they reach next summer's finals, Wednesday's friendly was one Beckham might have missed, especially given his fitness levels and the fact he was also due to play the following night.
- SAPA
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