Beckham out of Brazil friendly

David Beckham has pulled out of the England squad to face Brazil on Saturday after the midfielder's LA Galaxy club reached the MLS Western Conference final on Sunday.

Beckham helped Galaxy to a 1-0 semi-final second leg win over Chivas USA to win the tie 3-2 on aggregate and reach the final against Houston Dynamo, which is scheduled for Friday.

Beckham, though, was forced out of the match after 78 minutes after taking a knock to his lower back, and watched the remainder of the action with an ice-pack on the injury.

England manager Fabio Capello included Beckham in the 24-man squad for the friendly in Qatar with the condition that he would withdraw if Galaxy qualified for the final.