Beckham boost for England

England captain David Beckham trained for the first time since last week's defeat to Valencia and Real Madrid said they expected him to be fit for Sunday's league match with Espanyol.

That is good news for England coach Sven Goran Eriksson who names his squad Sunday for the Euro 2004 showdown in Turkey on October 11.

Beckham missed Real Madrid's 3-1 Champions League win in Porto on Wednesday because of a foot injury he picked up in the 2-0 defeat at Valencia on Saturday.

The midfielder was suffering from inflammation of the sole of his right foot.

Beckham was struggling with a groin injury before the Euro 2004 qualifiers against Macedonia and Liechtenstein, but recovered in time to play.