Be afraid, Beckham ... Goldenballs left to sweat as Capello names his first squad

Capello is worried about the fitness of a 32-year-old who has not played a competitive match since the MLS season ended in November.

He will not be pleased to read that Beckham has spent the early part of this week running on a beach in Brazil — while launching his third soccer school — when he had said he would prepare for next week's friendly with Switzerland for what he hopes will be his 100th cap by training with Arsenal.

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Prior to that he was in Sierra Leone as part of a Unicef initiative, which was admirable but not something that was going to propel him ahead of Aaron Lennon, David Bentley and Shaun Wright-Phillips in the battle for a place on England's right flank.

Croatia manager Slaven Bilic, who twice defeated England during the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, has urged Capello to look no further than Bentley. 'He's a great player,' said the former West Ham and Everton defender.

The two trips Beckham has taken in the last week are understood to have left the England manager and his staff slightly bemused and, as one England source said last night: 'It was not the cleverest of moves.'

Two weeks ago Capello is said to have agreed on a policy with his staff that would rule out any player who was not playing first-team football, and there is nothing to suggest the Italian has changed his view.

If he does adopt such a stance, then Paul Robinson will also struggle to earn a place in a provisional 30-man squad that will be reduced to 22 or 23 on Saturday night.

Last night, however, there was a potential twist in the story that could present Capello and his employers at the FA with an embarrassing situation.

The voting for the fans' England Player of the Year closes tonight and Beckham is among the favourites to be crowned along with Manchester City's Micah Richards and Aston Villa's Gareth Barry.

The winner will be presented with an award at Arsenal's training ground next Tuesday when Beckham could either be part of the squad or part of an Arsenal squad using an adjacent pitch at London Colney.

Capello has refused to give colleagues at the FA any clue as to who will be part of his squad prior to today's announcement — although the editors of the match programme have been encouraged to hold fire on a 'Beckham special' — and he is said to make his players wait until 90 minutes before a game before telling them if they are selected.

However, Jermaine Jenas is likely to be recalled, and Aston Villa's Gabriel Agbonlahor is expected to secure a spot along with team-mate Ashley Young and possibly even Dave Kitson, although the selection of the Reading striker was being dismissed in some FA quarters earlier this week.

Yesterday, the FA announced that Stuart Pearce, although remaining as England Under 21 manager, would be part of Capello's coaching staff.

The former Manchester City manager will join up with the senior squad after Tuesday's Under 21 encounter with the Republic of Ireland at Southampton and he will also be part of Capello's team in the two end-of-season friendlies and for the foreseeable future.

Capello said: 'From the start I made it clear to everyone that I wanted an English coach as part of my coaching team.

'I have spoken with Trevor Brooking and Stuart Pearce about this at length and I'm very happy Stuart is working with me.

'This is very important as Stuart has a lot of experience and understanding of English football. He understands what I am looking to achieve and how I want to work.

'I believe it is crucial that both of us have a close working partnership to get the best for the England team and the Under 21s. As well as being involved in all of the planning ahead of games, he will sit next to me on the bench during the matches and have a key position around the team.'

Pearce, whose Under 21s will be almost certain of at least a play-off to reach the 2009 European Championship if they defeat the Republic of Ireland, said: 'It will be a fantastic opportunity and a great education for me.'

Sir Trevor Brooking, the FA director of football development, added: 'Fabio Capello has always been keen to have an Englishman involved in his coaching staff.

'Stuart's experience of international football as a player and his success with the Under 21s makes him ideal for the role and will give him some useful exposure to the coaching set-up of the senior team.'