FABIO Capello has shown there is no sentiment in football after leaving David Beckham out of his first England squad.

But I believe the Italian has made the wrong decision and is way off the mark leaving the player stranded on 99 international caps.

Beckham showed when he stepped off the bench against Croatia in November he was still capable of doing the job for his country.

So I feel he should have been included in Capello's squad for England's home friendly against Switzerland on Wednesday.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfield maestro might have chosen to see out his time with LA Galaxy.

But it was his probing down the right flank that opened up Croatia and dragged off-colour England back into the European Championship qualifier.

Beckham's best efforts after coming on at the beginning of the second half, helping England fight back from 2-0 down to level at 2-2, were ultimately in vain.

Croatia grabbed a late winner in a 3-2 victory that stunned a capacity Wembley crowd, ruled England out of this year's European Championship and cost national manager Steve McClaren his job.

Despite that, Beckham demonstrated that night he was still England's best crosser of the ball even at the age of 32.

His delightful diagonal pass found Peter Crouch, who chested the ball down and volleyed home the equaliser before England eventually threw qualification away.

Beckham also showed against Croatia that he is still England's best player when it comes to taking free kicks, either shooting directly at goal or crossing into the box.

In short, he's still a player for the big occasion, with a big character as he also proved after being dropped by Capello when he was at Real Madrid at the beginning of last year.

Capello, remember, threw a major fit by sidelining Beckham after he decided he wanted away from the Bernabeu at the end of his contract so he could go to Los Angeles.

Always the true professional, Beckham trained even harder in his final six months at the club, eventually forcing Capello to recall him into the first team.

Beckham, far from being a spent force, and with the full backing of his fellow Galacticos, went on to help Real claim their first La Liga title for four years.

So Beckham has already proved Capello wrong once, and I'm sure he will do his utmost to prove him wrong again.

His legs might be slowing up and perhaps he can't cover the ground he once could, but world class players, like Zidane and Luis Figo, don't just lose that class overnight. They simply adapt their game.

Beckham is doing his hardest to reach the 100-cap milestone, even training on a daily basis with Arsenal for the past month.

As a Gooner, I have an in-built dislike of Manchester United players (in the nicest possible way), but there are two Reds players who prove the exception.

One is Ryan Giggs, and the other Beckham. They were, and still are, class acts.

I understand Capello is building for the 2010 World Cup, and that he doesn't have any time to waste.

He needs an early look at the likes of Shaun Wright-Phillips and David Bentley.

But anyone who can train full on with Arsenal - probably the fittest team in the Premiership - and pull it off can't be ruled out of the Italian's thinking.

McClaren made the mistake of sidelining Beckham too early when he initially took over the England job, only to have to recall the player at a later date to try and dig him out of a hole.

I wouldn't be surprised if Capello has to give Beckham another chance at a later date.

If he does, it will be a fully deserving David who reaches that magical 100-caps milestone and, you never know, he could even go on to get a few more under his belt before he finally has to call it a day.