Paris: David Beckham showed he could still play a role for England when he won his 100th cap in a 1-0 defeat to France in a friendly.

The LA Galaxy midfielder looked a little rusty at times but gave a typically hard-working performance at the Stade de France and was involved in much of England's attacking play before being replaced by David Bentley in the 63rd minute yesterday.

The 32-year-old, who made his England debut against Moldova in a World Cup qualifier in September 1996, became only the fifth English player to achieve a century of appearances for his country.

Billy Wright (105 caps) was the first to reach the milestone in 1959 and was subsequently followed by Bobby Charlton (106), Bobby Moore (108) and England's record appearance holder Peter Shilton (125).

Beckham won his 99th cap in England's 3-2 home defeat against Croatia in a Euro qualifier at Wembley last November.

"I am very proud of this 100th cap, it does not happen to everybody. It was amazing," he told reporters.

"It was special to win it here, where (Zinedine) Zidane played, and I have also got a house in France. The most important thing was to prove my fitness and I thought I did. I felt very fresh, a lot fresher than I thought I would be. Tonight I enjoyed myself, that's the biggest thing," he added.

Source : UNI