Beckham dismisses talk of retirement after World Cup

ENGLAND captain David Beckham revealed his determination to become his country’s most capped outfield player as he dismissed talk of retiring after the 2006 World Cup finals.

And while Beckham was vowing to eclipse Bobby Charlton’s 106 caps and Bobby Moore’s tally of 108, Michael Owen was setting his sights on passing Charlton’s 49-goal England scoring record.

Beckham had ignited the debate over his international future last weekend with the admission the 2006 tournament could be his last World Cup.

However, the 29-year-old midfielder today made it clear that he is still determined to carry on playing at the highest level for as long as possible.

Although he may never reach Peter Shilton’s overall England record of 125 caps, he could still pass the century mark before catching Billy Wright on 105 appearances, followed by Charlton and Moore.

Beckham will earn his 77th cap in tomorrow’s friendly in Madrid having just returned from the rib injury sustained in his last appearance for England against Wales last month.

He said: “I don’t want to retire from playing for my country as it’s one of the best honours I’ve ever been given.

“I was asked whether it would be my last World Cup and I said possibly it could be but I’m hoping it’s not. As a youngster, everyone dreams of playing for England and captaining England, and I want to carry on doing both for as long as I can.

“I set a target for myself when I got into the England team and when I was given the captaincy to reach the records of Bobby Charlton, who is an idol of mine and my dad, as well as Bobby Moore. That would mean I had reached a milestone in my career. To be up there with them would be amazing.”

Owen, meanwhile, who is still just 24, will one day surely eclipse even Beckham, given that he has already won 65 England caps.

However, the striker has another record in his sights - the 49-goal mark set by Charlton that not even Gary Lineker was able to emulate.

On hearing of Beckham’s personal target, Owen, who scored his 28th England goal in Azerbaijan last month, declared with a smile: “We are all after Bobby Charlton then!

“I am on 28 goals now and 49 is the record and I’m turning 25 soon. It is something I would dearly love to get. There is no hiding that. It would be a very big effort to get that total, to stay in the team for the next five or six years, which I’ll need to do and to score on a regular basis.

“If I play enough games, I am confident I can do it but staying fit and in the team are the two main hurdles.”

Real Madrid team-mates Beckham and Owen are relishing the chance of running out at the Bernabeu tomorrow in England’s all-white strip.

While Owen is in prime form, with six goals in his past eight games for Real, Beckham came through 90 minutes against Albacete on Sunday on his return from his double rib fracture.

But Real want Beckham to play a maximum of 45 minutes against Spain, with the small matter of a clash against Barcelona to come next weekend.