Beckham has no retirement plans

BEIJING, March 28 -- David Beckham has no intention of waving farewell to England after reaching 100 appearances. The Los Angeles Galaxy star maintains the wave he gave when he walked off during England's 0-1 loss to France was just an acknowledgment of the standing ovation that even the French fans gave him.

"I don't know where the rumors came from but they weren't from me," Beckham said. "It is 100 not out as far as I am concerned. The wave at the end was not a goodbye, just a thank you.

"The reception when I came off from both sets of fans was amazing. You obviously expect it off your own fans and I thank them for that but from the French people as well, it was an amazing standing ovation."

Although Beckham didn't even have a shot on goal and collected a yellow card for a foul on French goalscorer Franck Ribery, he was satisfied with his performance.

"The most important thing for me was to prove my fitness and I felt that I did that. I felt very fresh and a lot better than I thought I would," he said after playing for 62 minutes.

"As much as you work hard in preseason, there is nothing better than playing in games and I enjoyed it."

Beckham was the last England player to walk off the field. At the end of the game, he walked back on, hugged France defender William Gallas, and had a long talk with the Arsenal player before again waving and applauding the fans.

"If there was another place I would have liked the game after Wembley, it would have been in Paris because it is where (Zinedine) Zidane played," he said in reference to his former Real Madrid teammate.

(Source: Shanghai Daily/Agencies)

PARIS, March 25 (Xinhua) -- England coach Fabio Capello released on Tuesday that former England captain David Beckham will win his 100th cap to play the match against France.

Capello left Beckham out of his first squad against Switzerland in February but included him in the squad for the France's game and told a news conference that the midfielder would see some action. Full story

BEIJING, March 25 -- David Beckham said he would be honored to win his 100th cap for England in Wednesday's friendly away to France, if selected by manager Fabio Capello, but stressed he didn't want the milestone to mark the end of his international career.

Now playing for US side LA Galaxy, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder failed to be included in Capello's first England squad for last month's 2-1 win over Switzerland at Wembley. Full story

BEIJING, March 24 -- John Terry believes David Beckham should be captain if he earns his 100th international appearance for England in a friendly at France on Wednesday.

Terry was appointed England captain when Beckham stepped down from the position after the 2006 World Cup. New England coach Fabio Capello has not publicly decided if Terry will continue in the role.