Macedonia surprised at Beckham axing

FYR Macedonia have expressed surprise at Steve McClaren's decision to exclude David Beckham from the England squad.

Beckham was England's captain at the World Cup under Sven-Goran Eriksson but has been left out by McClaren, with little prospect of a recall for a player who has 94 caps. The 31-year-old has been left on the bench for recent Real Madrid matches but has been assured he has a future with the Spanish giants.

Macedonia face England at Old Trafford, and coach Srecko Katanec said of Beckham: "For me, he is a key player, although now he isn't even in the first XI at Real Madrid. If I was in McClaren's position, without a shadow of a doubt Beckham would be in the team."

Defender Aleksandar Vasoski said in the Daily Telegraph: "We couldn't believe that Beckham wasn't there again.

"For me he is a hero, a legend. I marked him when we played England in 2003 and it was one of the greatest moments of my life. It earned me a move to Eintracht Frankfurt."