England FA chief Brian Barwick has supported Fabio Capello's decision to omit LA Galaxy midfielder David Beckham from his squad.

"The coach picks the team, he picks the squad and the tactics, and the most important arguments he has to make are football arguments," Barwick said. "In an ideal world there's a logic to David Beckham having 100 caps but first and foremost it's the coach's decision and I respect that.

"Fabio knows that the most important thing is the games but we should give him the independence to make the decisions that are appropriate for the England team."

He added: "What Fabio has been able to do is come in with fresh eyes. He doesn't need the back catalogue of which players have done what or why. He can come to this in a very objective way. This is a real opportunity, and I get the sense that he's going to take each player on his merits."