Beckham fears lack of games spells long wait for 100th cap

Beckham is in South Korea for an exhibition match between LA Galaxy and FC Seoul (AP)

David Beckham has admitted he is still some way short of being fit enough to win his 100th cap for England. The former England captain was speaking at a press conference in Seoul, South Korea as his club, Los Angeles Galaxy, prepared to begin a three-match tour of Asia.

The England coach Fabio Capello revealed Beckham was not selected for the Italian's first match in charge, the 2-1 win over Switzerland earlier this month, because he was short of match fitness. And the midfielder said: "I would love to reach 100 caps, but I have to be physically ready. All I've done is training, I have no match fitness."

Galaxy are set to play FC Seoul in a friendly on Saturday before games in Shanghai on 5 March and Hong Kong on 9 March, although this latter fixture is yet to be ratified by the Hong Kong Football Association.

Beckham has no issues with Capello after being overlooked for the friendly at Wembley. He added: "I played under Fabio Capello before [at Real Madrid]. He is a great manager and a good person. He will pick players if he believes they are fit enough, and with me playing no games it was only right that there are other players that played many games." England next play France in Paris on 24 March.

Galaxy's proposed exhibition match in Hong Kong is in limbo after the HKFA confirmed it has not yet agreed for it to go ahead. The MLS side stated yesterday that they will play a Hong Kong Union side on Sunday 9 March.

The Shanghai-based marketing company Bellson Development Group are the marketing agents for the game but have yet to receive the go-ahead from the FA, which has expressed concerns the game would clash with local league fixtures. Lam Shing Kui, deputy general secretary of the HKFA, stated in the Hong Kong daily The Standard: "There is a league game scheduled on 9 March. Up until now the organiser has not discussed the details with the FA. Are we supposed to allocate all our resources for the need of an exhibition game?"

An HKFA spokesperson also confirmed that nothing has yet been agreed.