David Beckham

The England football team's World Cup fallout continued today with Italian head coach Fabio Capello letting slip in a pre-match interview that he didn't intend to play former captain David Beckham for the upcoming European Qualifying games. "He [Beckham] is probably a bit old," he told national TV.

Beckham, 35, has been left angered and confused by the revelation, especially as Don Fabio allegedly did not tell him in person. Beckham spent the summer with the England team in South Africa, despite being ruled out of playing through injury, in a heroic display of patriotism - especially considering injured full-time captain Rio Ferdinand jetted straight home after suffering a knee injury in training.

Beckham, who with 115 caps holds the outfield record as the most experienced Englishman of all time, was eventually informed of Capello's decision by his trusted lieutenant Franco Baldini. It was also Baldini who spoke directly to Paul Scholes to try to coax him out of international retirement and play at the world cup alongside the returning Jamie Carragher.

Carragher, 32, and Scholes, who turns 36 in November, were both approached by England to make dramatic returns from retirement. Carragher played as defensive cover given the injury to Ferdinand and the sporadic fitness of Ledley King, 3 years after he announced his retirement as a result of consistently being played out of position under former managers Sven Goran-Eriksson and Steve MacLaren.

Beckham's goal in against Ecuador in the 2006 world cup saw him become the first Englishman to score in three world cups, and with injury denying him that opportunity to play in the world cup this year, any dreams of becoming the first Englishman to play in four world cups are quickly fading.

Confusion surrounds Capello's decision to publicly axe Beckham; after all, his persuit of Scholes - six months Beckham's senior - suggests that if a player is good enough to play, he'll be considered no matter his age. Just take a look at Capello's old club AC Milan, who preserved the career of Paulo Maldini until the age of 34. Other players from the Beckham era in the current Milan team include Gattuso, 32, Pirlo, 31, Nesta, 34, and Seedorf, 34, and one Fillipo Inzaghi who continues to play at 37.

It remains to be seen what will become of Beckham, with many England fans calling for Capello to show the legendary midfielder more respect amidst fears that his career could fade in much the same way as former goal-machine Michael Owen's did, after he was immediately dropped by Capello following three injury-plagued seasons.