Should that be it for David Beckham?

David Beckham became the fifth England footballer to reach 100 caps in the 1-0 defeat by France in Paris on Wednesday night.

This was no cameo role for the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder, with Fabio Capello, the England coach, deploying the former captain from the start and giving him 63 minutes to make a mark, before finally replacing him with David Bentley.

Beckham waved to his family in the stands and to the rest of the crowd as he left the pitch, an indication that perhaps he felt this might be the final occasion on which he proudly wore the Three Lions shirt. The midfielder, though, is nothing if not a fighter and surely it was more likely just a gesture of thanks for the spectators' appreciation of his reaching such a notable landmark.

What do you think? Is it nice that Beckham has brought up his century but should he now bow out gracefully, or has he still a future at international level? Please cast your vote below and leave us a comment.

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Comments

[Trahearne]

English football needs to move away from beckham, however i cannot see any youngsters being good enough to fill his boots. Bentley was not as good as everyone said against switzerland, he has no pace and he cant beat people. lennon cant cross, while walcott is NOT a winger. BUT The middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson should get a go in the future, and Leon Osman has been brilliant for Everton this season. Beckham should go, and he's nothing like Ronaldo!!

[Joseph Brown]

I agree with James, Matthew is a clown. I find it hard to accept people's uneducated opinions of Bentley, but to say that Joe Cole can't cross is just stupid.

I was at the Switzerland game, and Bentley did more than enough to justify his place in the team that faced France.

I'm not saying that Beckham should never play for England again, but he should be behind Bentley in the pecking order.

If Capello thinks that he can be England's Ronaldo, then we have some serious problems.

[james]

yu are a clown "mathew".Bentley has had ONE FULL GAME at this level-and he was excellent.Beckham,you probably dont know this,had 2 YEARS in an england shirt being allowed time and space to grow into the role before he produced a bean.His 1st contribution came in summer 98-2 full years after his debut and you dare condemn Bentley for 20 minutes as a substitute.How do we as england deal with this outrageous ignorance amongst supporters?These are the sorts of "fans" that will boo Bentley or indeed anyone who dares try and take away the place from their beloved hero Beckham,the man who first brought them into our game and "attracted" them to it.They simply do not understand this sport and i really wish theyd get lost out of it when "becks" goes for good.David Beckham is the ultimate footballer for people who dont really like football.Real football men know a lightweight one-trick pony when they see one and Beckham showed over many years and 5 major tournaments that that is exactly what he was and remains.

[Kamal]

What jokers most commentators on this subject are! I was at the England-Croatia game with my kids - the only two English players who had a good first touch and looked like they had the time on the ball to hold it and pass were Joe Cole, Beckham and Barry (sometimes). The rest were awful and couldn't pass the ball - the Croatian manager knew this. Finally, at the end, only Beckham stayed on the pitch to acknowledge the fans.

[Mike]

Pretty much any other team in Europe would love to have a player with the class of Beckham and 32 is not too old.

It is right to say we need to look to the future and bring in youth but until they show they are better than Beckham then he should stay. He can still nail a cross and a game can turn on one of them.

At the moment too many detractors seem to be trying to point to Beckham's failings rather than genuine superiority in others. The challenge is for others to prove their value. Last night's dreadful display of passing into the box offered no alternative.

On the other hand the role of Gerrard for England must bear greater scrutiny. For Liverpool where he is the main man he can be a star but in England company he is a serial disappointment. He doesn't seem to like being part of the team.

Give me the folks like Barry and Hargreaves who show pride when they wear the shirt any day.

[Dave]

Same old faces. Same old England. Now is the time for the future so where are the new players? So disappointing and a bad feeling that 4 years from now we'll be looking at yet another "fresh start".

[Mathew]

If you want Beckham dropped you don't know about football.

[Mathew]

Bentley came on and was found out, also no one in the whole entire team can cross the ball. As an Arsenal fan i already knew A.Cole can't cross but W.Brown, J.Cole, S.Downing, D.Bentley shocked me with their ability too hit and hope. If we could get Beckham at RB it would be ideal, all this talk about Beckham not being good enough is rubbish. Why isn't Hargreaves and Barry's passing being questioned or Gerrard's role.

[carl]

I am a fan of Beckham, he has delivered when we have needed him to.

However, enough is enough, he is past it and is not playing in a top league. we have 2 years until WC2010, lets build a new team.

[charlie thomas]

I didn't think David looked that bad last night. His passing was good, his crossing better, and he nearly scored.

He also didn't bottle tackles and provided England with width when it was needed - something which i've yet to see the "heir apparent" do.

Also, while i do enjoy watching Downing play, did anyone else get frustrated at his inability to deliver a single decent cross last night? And Joe Cole, usually one of the more dynamic, die-hard players, looked lost last night.

I realise this is Fabio's way of testing different formulas for our next international campaign, but i sincerely hope he has a major plan up his sleeves because based on last night's lacklustre performance, particularly in the second half, we're not out of trouble by a long way yet.

[Patrick Henry]

European fans are incredibly fickle and don't deserve Beckham.

[Jarrad Wilkes]

Predictably Beckham looked past it last night.

Yes he can hit a ball - he has always been able to hit a ball. But the idea that he is the only person who can do this? Nonsense.

How many times did he beat his man? Never. And yes, he has never been able to do this - which is why playing him has always limited us.

Take your 100 caps (about 50 more than your limited talent should have won you without the hype machine) and go quietly. Take Terry, Wes Brown, Owen and James with you.

I'd rather we played a young team together to build toward the next tournament and the future than continue to drag out the same over-paid primadonnas who have let us down in the past and who never bring their club game to the table. I'm looking at you as well Gerrard.

[Gary]

Becks was, as ever, out of his depth, he has at least 50 caps too many. Only decent game anyone can remember was against Greece years ago. Slow, self and celebrity obsessed (like his fans), as for a great role model, sent off twice, jumped out of a tackle v Brazil that cost us a goal, tried to deliberatley injure a Welsh player so as to get himself booked so as to miss next away game etc etc. Until the media stops fueling this obsession we will never progress with real talented players. Go in any pub and talk to real football peolple they know that Becks game is all style and no substance!

[Nils (Latvia)]

"with him we would DEFINATELY have got to Euro 2008."

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What an arrogant claptrap. Croatia were way better in both games and for Christ's sake show at last some respect to the other opponents!! Otherwise I see England failing to reach WC2010 as well. Do you know you will play Croatia again? Most probably you'll thrashed again - with or without so called "Saviour of the nation".

Rant over.

[Paul]

Becks is class, his passes were one of the few highlights last night. He is more than a celebrity, people dont judge him fairly due to jealousy. MacLaren was pathetic dropping him, with him we would DEFINATELY have got to Euro 2008

[giorgio]

Hi, I'm italian, Milan fan, and, though it sounds incredible, I have a fondness for the England teams and particularly I admire Liverpool; maybe I'm a masochist.
Well, I think that England national team must be totally recostructed around a new leader, the olds beeing frayed. The new leader must be a champion, a symbol, with a long perspective and a brave fighter. I see only a name: Gerrard.
As all italians, I'm the best football coach around: so, pls, report it to Fabio.
Thanks bye. :-)
Giorgio

[Jose]

I do not what Capello has in mind at the moment. But even if he does not have Beckham in mind for his plans that does not matter. Beckham is a fighter and works like nobody else. He has already shown Capello what he can do. What happened last year at Madrid? Capello said he did not want him and at Beckham worked and worked and Capello had to bring him in and then David was the most important player to win the title. David has gone through other difficult moments like after he got the red card against Argentina. Do you remember how fans in England were against him for some time? David fought back and got all the fans back.
David will fight for his possition in the English squad and I am sure that David has still a lot of football to offer.I only wish that David does not spend 5 years in the USA. I wish he comes back to Europe soon, he can play in any top team.

[jukebox]

well...seing how Beckham played last night and how Bentley played when he came on after that, i would definitely say GIVE ME DAVID BECKHAM anyday, anytime in the England shirt in the next games as he was really excellent last night!! the only low point last night was that Fabio Capello brought him out too early as he had just gaining momentum and understanding between him, Downing (who was great on the left), Crouch & Owen, not to mention Brown, when he was brought out. i say Capello should left him in for 10 minutes more, until the 70th minutes, then replace him. because in those 10 minutes, i believed England would have scored the equalizer, had he stayed on for 10 minutes more.

[Sean]

One of the best players on the pitch, in my opinion. Passing, crossing and corners were something to be admired, as were general football awareness and experience.

[james]

Beckham was scandously started last night-for what possible motive?He was everything he was under Eriksson,he played slow,deep and was moribund in his movement and agility.Just what have we learnt by this?Bentley needed 90 minutes at the start of his career at this level to learn the ropes,get a chance to grow into the game as he had done v the swiss at Wembley and hed have gained invaluable experience for the future on that kind of stage against that level of opponent.Beckham is nothing but a representation of a failed and decadent past.Fair enough if youre a fan of his,great,you got your little moment,"becks" even sported very him Golden boots to make sure everyone remembered whos night this was meant to be but really,thats the end now.Capello must move us forward,away from Beckham and what he represents and show he has the depth of ability to forge a new side playing with at least partial momentum and pace,something that can never be the case with the ageing and ever-decreasing Beckham.