LA Galaxy ace Beckham facing Croatia axe

England boss Steve McClaren said: “He needed that game, he needed a run out. It was good to have a look at him.

“What we’ve got to do now is look through that game again, especially the first half and assess the performance of the team.

“The key over the last three or four months is that there is competition for places.

“Because of injuries, players have come in and done a job. Gareth Barry and Shaun Wright-Phillips have created competition.”