I'm fit and confident of winning my 100th cap against France, declares Beckham

Beckham was left out of new manager Fabio Capello's squad for his first game in charge of the national side, a 2-1 victory over Switzerland, due to a lack of match fitness.

But the Italian hinted yesterday he expects the 32-year-old to be in contention to face Raymond Domenech's side in Paris, although he will assess Beckham in action prior to that when the Los Angeles Galaxy face FC Dallas in a pre-season game on March 15.

And Beckham, in Hong Kong for Galaxy's third game of a three-match Asian tour, believes there will be no doubts about his sharpness, insisting that the decision will be purely down to form.

"Fitness-wise, I'll be perfect," he said. "But it's about performing and hopefully I'll do that."

Beckham insisted he was relaxed over his England future despite his initial exclusion, after being reassured by Capello he would be in the frame for the France encounter, and is also confident he can extend his international career well beyond the Paris friendly.

"That's what he (Capello) said to me. I knew that from the conversation I had with him," he added.

"He said that once I'm back playing and if I'm fit, and I'm playing well enough, then he'll pick me. With the first game after he took charge, I hadn't played any games and he explained that to me. I've played three games so far now and got through them all.

"I believe I can play for my country for a good few more years yet, that's just me being honest. I believe that I can still play at that level.

"The standard is slightly different in the US but it's not as low as everybody thinks. We've got some very good teams and very good players and we play some really good football so we'll just have to wait and see.

"But I believe I can play for my country for a good few years."

If Beckham does join Peter Shilton, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton and Billy Wright as only the fifth player to pass the century mark for England, he admitted it will be one of the proudest moments of a career that has seen him claim titles in England and Spain along with the Champions League.

"Reaching 100 games and reaching 100 caps is very special," he said.

"Being a proud Englishmen, it's something that I've always wanted to do since I was a young boy. I've always wanted to play for my country, I've always wanted to captain my country and I've always wanted to reach 100 games because there's not many players that have done that.

"It would be a proud moment if I did that but at the moment I'm working hard on my fitness and working hard with the Galaxy and if I get the 100th cap then great. But we'll just have to wait and see."