David Beckham has put to bed any lingering doubt that he won't be part of LA Galaxy's squad for next month's big friendly in Auckland against the Oceania Allstars. The England midfielder has confessed that last year's visit of New Zealand was a career highlight and he is looking forward to the December 6 clash at Auckland Regional Council's Mt Smart Stadium.

The Oceania Allstars will feature Beckham's former Manchester United teammate Mark Bosnich and ex-Real Madrid star Christian Karembeu.

Beckham declared: "Well, although the MLS season is over for us, the Galaxy squad are still in training as we're off to New Zealand next month to play against an Oceania All-Star team.

"This gives us some time together working on things without the pressure of a match every week and it's good to spend some time together, with Bruce Arena also getting some time to put across his ideas. The training sessions have been really positive and great fun too. We work hard, but training has been really enjoyable.

"We know next month's match is on a friendly, but it gives us a chance to put into practice the manager's tactics and finish the year with a good result before everyone goes on their break.

"I'm disappointed that we won't be visiting Australia again, like we did last year, as it's an incredibly beautiful country and I really enjoyed my last visit, but unfortunately the date of the proposed match was set during the players break with their families, which made it not possible for us to play. I look forward to going to Australia again soon."

For Bosnich, the glamour friendly is a chance to put himself in the shop window.

"Becks has scored against me before, when I was with Aston Villa and Hopefully he won't again," he smiled. "I'm hoping this game will give me the opportunity to show I'm still able to play high level football."

 
For more from David, visit his blog at davidbeckham.com.