DAVID Beckham will find out today if he has jumped the first hurdle towards earning his 100th England cap next week.
Fabio Capello will name a provisional squad for the Switzerland friendly before confirming his final selection at the weekend for the Wembley clash on Wednesday.
Franz Beckenbauer is the latest figure to call for Beckham to be granted his century,
although there are concerns over the midfielder's match fitness as he has not played a competitive game for two months.
With the season over for LA Galaxy, 32-year-old Beckham has been training with Arsenal but Capello also has Aaron Lennon, David Bentley and Shaun Wright-Phillips to choose from for a role on the right of midfield.
"I don't know what Capello's future planning is with regards to England," said Beckenbauer. "What I do know is that it's always a nice gesture to give a world-class player, a living legend like Beckham is, a chance to play his 100th cap even if you are planning the future without him."
Beckham's place in the squad is not the only tough decision Capello has to make.
Paul Robinson has lost his place as Tottenham's first-choice goalkeeper, while Scott Carson endured a miserable competitive debut when England crashed to defeat against Croatia. West Ham keeper Robert Green has also been pushing for a call-up while Portsmouth's David James is not without his backers despite numerous high-profile errors throughout his career.
Jamie Carragher's retirement and John Terry's foot injury gives Capello a window to look at a centre-back with veteran Sol Campbell's partnership with the improving Joleon Lescott not winning too many plaudits last time out against the Croatians.
In attack, Reading boss Steve Coppell has championed Dave Kitson to be given a chance but it remains to be seen whether Capello will have an all-embracing approach to selection or whether he will strongly favour players actively participating in the Champions League.
Stuart Pearce will announce his under-21s squad earlier in the afternoon, with the likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Theo Walcott hoping to have caught the eye of Capello since he took over from Steve McClaren.
Beckenbauer was also hopeful Capello would restore England to past glories in light of their failure to qualify for Euro 2008. "England is one of the leading football countries in the world and a European Championship without England, I'm sorry, it's not the same," he said.
"Now it's a time to renew themselves. I am convinced they will come out stronger because of this. The potential is there."
The full article contains 441 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
