BACK TO ARCHIVE INDEX © All written site content is copyright ComeOnBoro.com 2004-2007, unless otherwise stated, and is not to be used without prior permission.	WOODGATE: BECKS WILL BE BACK David Beckham's England career is far from over, according to Real Madrid team-mate Jonathan Woodgate. Beckham relinquished the England captaincy after the World Cup and has been left out of new manager Steve McClaren's two squads since taking over. Although McClaren has refused to rule out recalling the 31-year-old in the future, his non-selection for the opening Euro 2008 qualifiers appears to suggest his international days are at an end. But Woodgate, who has just joined hometown club Middlesbrough on a season-long loan and still harbours England ambitions of his own, claims Beckham is still desperate to represent his country. "David Beckham will be back for England - I don't think we have seen the last of him at international level," he told the Sunday Mirror. "I got to know David well during our time together in Madrid and I know what playing for England means to him. "I understood the reasons for him giving up the captaincy. It was the natural time after the World Cup to hand over the armband and let the responsibility be carried by someone else. "I think he needed a break and the chance to get out of the spotlight. "The manager, Steve McClaren, has made a decision for England but I know David will keep on playing as hard as he can to get back in the squad. "David is still only 31 and I think he has a lot still to offer his country. "He was a fantastic player and still is. "He's got 94 caps and he's one of the best players in the country - in the top 23, for sure." Former England manager Glenn Hoddle agrees that Beckham will return, but only if things start to get tough. He told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme: "I think Steve is correct in saying that the door is not shut. "If we had a really difficult group where I could see us getting on a sticky wicket, I think David would be brought back straight away, and rightly so. "But I cannot see that with the group we have got... (and) the wide boys that played on Saturday against Andorra. Steven Gerrard can play there and put a wonderful cross in for the (Jermain) Defoe goal. "I personally would prefer to see Steven in the centre of the pitch where he is going to hurt people even more. Then there is (Aaron) Lennon, and I would not cast out (Jermaine) Pennant at Liverpool. "One of the things that lad needed to learn a little bit was when to use the ball early, and the crowd at Liverpool and the way they play will demand that from him and that will make him a better player. "David Beckham has got a few people there, and it might be in the centre of the pitch where, if he does come back at all, that might be where Steve is going to use him. "But I cannot see them getting themselves on a sticky wicket with the group we are in." Meanwhile Hoddle has called on the game's governing bodies to resist the urge to force minnows like Andorra to pre-qualify for major tournaments. He cited the emergence of Turkey and Greece as genuine forces in support of his argument and, while admitting Andorra are unlikely to follow suit, he insists they will improve by coming up against the best. Hoddle said: "We played Greece and they were the whipping boys; we played Turkey and they were the whipping boys. "In the end, now look what has happened: Turkey have got to a semi-final of the World Cup, Greece have won the European Championships. "I am not saying Andorra are going to go on and do that, but they will improve if they continue over the next 15 years to play the top teams. "That is why world football has become so difficult and the margins are so slim against a lot of these teams. "At the moment, we have to drag our heels along to go through what we had to go through yesterday. The top international teams are not going to gain much from it." The satisfaction at England's performance has been tempered by the quality of the opposition, but Hoddle insisted they could have done little more. He said: "It was a bit of a mismatch. If it was a boxing match, they would have been throwing the towel in and people would have been asking for their money back. "But the bottom line is, you have got to play those teams if they are drawn in your group, you have got to be professional about it and England were. "It was a very good win for them. The fact that they scored some quality goals was important as well. "They will have got something out of the game, obviously, but not a lot. You are on a hiding to nothing. "They (Andorra) were very, very poor - probably the poorest that England have played." By Bettingzone.co.uk Used with permission. SEND THIS TO A FRIEND ENGLAND v ANDORRA & MACEDONIA MATCH PROGRAMME INDEX
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