David Beckham is trying hard to prepare himself for this Sunday’s Major League Soccer final.

The 34-year-old admitted last night that he hasn’t trained since suffering from a bruised ankle during the team’s last playoff victory.

Beckham is still confident that he will start in the final against Real Salt Lake, which will be his first chance to win a title since joining the LA Galaxy.

“I haven't trained since the game the other day so it's been a bit of a worry,” explained Beckham in an interview. “'I had bad bone bruising. I have done a little running now, which is important. It was the first time I'd actually been able to wear trainers.”

He continued, “It's a lot easier now. At my age you go into games and nothing is perfect. You always have a niggling injury of some sort.”

Source: MailOnline
 

The United States is not quite in second place and barely ahead of fourth as the World Cup qualifying stretch run begins.

Points are precious with only four games remaining and a very slim margin between being in or out of next summer's tournament in South Africa.

The Americans host El Salvador on Saturday, clinging to one of the three guaranteed spots in the region with only three points separating the top four teams.

"None of us were under any illusions. We've known for a long time how difficult qualifying is - particularly in this last stage," U.S. goalie Tim Howard said. "It's never easy."

The United States (3-1-2) is seeking a sixth straight World Cup berth. The Americans enter this round in third place in North and Central America and the Caribbean group, tied with Honduras at 10 points but behind in the standings because of goal differential. Mexico is in fourth, just one point behind, and Costa Rica leads with 12 points.

The top three teams qualify for the World Cup and the fourth-place team will have a chance to make the field for South Africa in a playoff.

The Americans play another qualifier Wednesday at Trinidad and Tobago. The standings next week will depend on what happens in the other qualifiers. Winning is the only way the United States can ensure it remains among the top three.

"We're going in to this thinking we need two wins. That would set us up real nicely for qualifying," said defender Carlos Bocanegra, the U.S. captain.

Saturday's game is a rematch of a 2-2 draw played in San Salvador in March that left players from both sides disappointed, feeling they had let two more points slip away. El Salvador led 2-0, but couldn't hold off a U.S. rally in the second half.

"It's a game we were winning, then the United States came harder and it ended in a tie," El Salvador coach Carlos de los Cobos said.

Howard had to sit out the first meeting to serve a one-game suspension for receiving his second yellow card in qualifying. The Americans felt they had a chance at getting a win and three points instead of just the single point for a tie, but played from behind most of the game.

The United States salvaged a point on goals by Jozy Altidore in the 77th minute and Frankie Hejduk's score in the 88th.

"There were parts of the game where we felt we should have been better," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. "We were certainly pleased at the end, given the challenge of being down two goals on the road and to fight back. That said a lot about the mentality of the team. That was the big positive."

Bradley has been using a younger, less-experienced lineup and stayed with that for El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago. Several players impressed him during the U.S. run in the Gold Cup earlier this summer. Four players on the roster this week, including locals Kyle Beckerman and Robbie Findley of Real Salt Lake, have not played in a World Cup qualifier this cycle.

Although El Salvador (1-3-2) is stuck near the bottom of the group with five points, Los Cuscatlecos have been improving rapidly under de los Cobos. El Salvador is up to No. 85 in the FIFA world rankings after being ranked 169th three years ago.

U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu is suspended for Saturday's game after receiving his second qualifying yellow card during a 2-1 loss last month in Mexico. Even with the hole in the U.S. defence, the Americans are expecting a conservative approach from El Salvador in front of the hostile U.S. crowd that's expected to pack Rio Tinto Stadium.

"They'll be a different team here than the way they played there. They'll probably be very defensive minded. Our job is to break them down, try to score a goal early," U.S. forward Landon Donovan said. "The longer the game stays at 0-0, the better it is for them."

Matt Reis, New England Revolution’s goalkeeper, said that David Beckham’s return to the Los Angeles Galaxy and his inevitable return to AC Milan are distracting viewers from other interesting stories around Major League Soccer.

While he was attending an immigrant soccer tournament last Thursday in Lowell, Reis said that Beckham may sell celebrity magazines but there are many MLS teams and players that have just as compelling personal stories as he does. 

“There (are) plenty of other pieces and other stories that are out there,” said the American, who played college soccer at UCLA and was originally drafted by the Galaxy in 1998.

Beckham debuted for the LA Galaxy last Thursday with a convincing 3-1 win over the New York Red Bulls. The Brit has publicly exchanged harsh words with his fellow teammate Landon Donovan and he has received bad feedback from US fans for not taking MLS seriously.

In a new book, Beckham was quoted in saying that the travel accommodations in MLS are “shocking.”

The 34-year-old signed with the Galaxy in 2007 under a $32.5 million five-year contract after spending four seasons with Real Madrid.

Hampered with several injuries, Beckham only played eight matches for the Galaxy in his first season. Last year, he was able to play 25 matches but he failed to meet expectations as Los Angeles missed the playoffs yet again. 
 

David Beckham returned to Major League Soccer with a whisper, not a shout.

Playing in a stadium nearly three-quarters empty, the star midfielder was slow and had little role in the Los Angeles Galaxy's 3-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Thursday night.

"The most important thing is for us to get three points, and tonight we did that in style," Beckham said.

In his first club match since the Italian League's season finale on May 31, Beckham was often behind the play and seemed winded. He had no free-kick chances near the goal, didn't make any crosses that created threats and didn't even take all the Galaxy corner kicks while he was in the match.

Fans scurried down the aisles to get better pictures when he did take corner kicks, but he was booed at times.

"A few tonight, but it's to be expected," he said. "It's sometimes nice to get the boos. It gives you some inspiration,"

Los Angeles drew 66,237 for its 5-4 loss at the Red Bulls two years ago, the largest soccer crowd at Giants Stadium for a U.S. league game in 27 years. Attendance dropped to 46,754 for last year's 2-2 tie and fell by 50 percent to 23,238 Thursday. Eleven of 36 sections in lower deck were covered with navy tarp, and there were only a handful of people in the second deck and none at all in the third.

"Obviously the first year was impressive," Beckham said. "We're in a recession so, you know, maybe that's part of it."

Alecko Eskandarian scored on a left-footed volley that beat goalkeeper Danny Cepero from about 28 yards in the third minute, Landon Donovan on a right-footed shot from about the same distance in the 31st and Eddie Lewis from 15 yards in the 45th.

Los Angeles (6-3-9) has won four straight MLS games for the first time since September-October 2007 and is fighting for a playoff berth. The Galaxy had not won at New York since 2000.

"I became a better coach with the addition of David Beckham," the Galaxy's Bruce Arena said.

Juan Pablo Angel had an 87th-minute penalty kick and failed to convert one in the 90th for the Red Bulls (2-14-4), who would be a lock for relegation if the MLS had relegation. They dropped to 0-9-2 in the league and 0-10-2 overall since beating San Jose on May 8.

Coach Juan Carlos Osorio apologized for his team's performance.

"I feel sorry and I want to apologize to the fans," he said.

Beckham appeared to go out of his way to be friendly with Donovan, who in a book out this week criticized his teammate as unprofessional for allegedly quitting on the Galaxy in the late stages of a disappointing 2008 season.

Beckham and Donovan, who regained his captain's job from the Englishman, shook hands and embraced ahead of the opening whistle. Beckham draped his arm around Donovan after the American scored, and the two hugged after Donovan assisted on the third goal.

"There was never a doubt in our minds that these guys would work together," Arena said. "It was certainly a great moment with all the buildup of the so-called questionable relationship."

Donovan had come to New York on a red-eye after attending the ESPY awards in Los Angeles.

"It's not often that soccer is on the front of people's minds in this country, and right now it seems to be," Donovan said, "not necessarily for the right reasons the last couple of weeks, but people are talking about it, and that's good."

Beckham, twice runner-up in FIFA player of the year voting and former star with Manchester United and Real Madrid, joined the Galaxy with great fanfare two years ago. He bolted for a half-season loan to AC Milan in January, saying he needed to face top competition to keep a spot on England's national team, and he likely will return to Europe at the start of 2010 to stay sharp ahead of the World Cup.

For now, though, he's trying to make the MLS postseason for the first time.

"We're playing with players that have got a lot of confidence," Beckham said. "They're not scared to just, you know, do stuff on their own. You know, they don't feel as if they have to give the ball to certain players in attacking positions because they can do it themselves."