Beckham and Wenger show steals limelight during England training

As even the people of Hollywood are finding out these days, keeping David Beckham out of the spotlight is no simple task whether he is fit to play football or not. And when he joined up with the England squad for the first time as a Los Angeles Galaxy player yesterday the man himself gave another masterclass in making his team-mates feel like the supporting cast.

The 32-year-old had only turned up at Arsenal's training ground for some light jogging before hitting the gym but he spotted Arsène Wenger by the side of the pitch, stopped for a chat and before long every lens in the place was trained on those two men. Never mind the England squad being put through their paces 100 yards away, two of English football's A-listers had given every photographer in the place their moment.

Even Steve McClaren eventually looked over his shoulder to see what the fuss was all about and could be forgiven for suppressing a sigh. On his original return to the England squad in May, Beckham was dutifully low-key – yesterday's little cameo with Wenger was a reminder that in the football food-chain the former England captain belongs a lot higher up the hierarchy than even the manager of his national team.

Not that yesterday was the proudest day in the history of the England football team with four more withdrawals from a squad that has already suffered an early-season backlash from Premier League managers. Darren Bent was withdrawn by Tottenham for an unspecified thigh problem and Steven Gerrard did not even make the trip from Liverpool following the scan on the hairline fracture to his left foot.

The Football Association said that it had been given access to the medical evidence and was satisfied that there was no point calling up the players involved. It would have been its right but McClaren is unwilling to antagonise club managers with his job on the line in the Euro 2008 qualifiers over the next few months.

Sol Campbell and Owen Hargreaves were permitted to join up but will be sent back to their respective clubs today and will play no part tomorrow.

There was a time when a game – friendly or otherwise – against Germany at Wembley would be something to savour. However, if McClaren was brutally honest he would say that this England camp would be much better served without the game and the 90,000 expectant fans at the end of it. The sad state of international football is that it is not just the club managers who object to the friendlies – they are not much use to the England manager either.

Still, there is a £757m stadium to be filled and a game to be played and England must soldier on, despite the fact that McClaren could work with only 13 outfield players and three goalkeepers yesterday having named an original squad of 28 on Friday. Add Gerrard, Hargreaves, Campbell and Bent to the injured Wayne Rooney, Ledley King, Aaron Lennon, Gary Neville, Wayne Bridge and Michael Dawson and you have the makings of a decent team. Factor in the recently retired Jamie Carragher and – with a goalkeeper – it would arguably be a better side than the one which will start tomorrow.

Considering McClaren's options it seems implausible that he will not start with David Beckham on the right of midfield and with the left given to Joe Cole. Michael Carrick and Frank Lampard are the last men standing in central midfield and a defence of Micah Richards, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and Ashley Cole virtually picks itself.

The two interesting factors are at either end of the pitch. David James was again on resoundingly good form in training, Paul Robinson less so. Having brought the 37-year-old back into the squad, would McClaren be prepared to pick the Portsmouth goalkeeper ahead of the man who would otherwise mark three years as England's No 1 next month?

In attack, Michael Owen will surely start but it is not obvious who will play alongside him. Peter Crouch would be the obvious choice but he is suspended for the match against Israel on 8 September and McClaren has to prepare for his absence. Alan Smith was so woeful against Brazil in May that he does not deserve a recall. That would leave Owen paired with a similar kind of striker such as Andy Johnson, Jermain Defoe or even Kieron Dyer.

Like their hosts, Germany are labouring under severe injury problems which will make so much of tomorrow night's game ultimately meaningless for both managers. Nevertheless, for only its second senior England international, Wembley has, according to the FA, already sold out. The prime minister Gordon Brown and the German chancellor Angela Merkel will be in attendance. If they are lucky, David Beckham might wander over to them for a chat too.