David Beckham brought up his hundredth England cap on this day in 2008 in an international friendly away to France.
He was unable to mark the occasion in Paris with a victory after Franck Ribery scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot in the 32nd-minute in a 1-0 win for the hosts.
Beckham, who wore golden boots at Stade de France, lasted just over an hour before boss Fabio Capello replaced him with David Bentley.
An LA Galaxy player at the time, the midfielder became only the fifth footballer to represent the country on more than 100 occasions and followed in the footsteps of Billy Wright, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton and Peter Shilton.
Doubts were raised over whether he would reach three figures for England after then-national team manager Capello left him out of his first international squad in 2007 but Beckham would eventually make it up to 115 appearances.
On his milestone cap, he told reporters: “I am very proud of this 100th cap, it does not happen to everybody. It was amazing. It was special to win it here, where (Zinedine) Zidane played, and I have also got a house in France.
“The most important thing was to prove my fitness (after a knee injury) and I thought I did. I felt very fresh, a lot fresher than I thought I would be. Tonight I enjoyed myself, that’s the biggest thing.”
He would go on to captain the side in a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago months later while before a clash with the United States at Wembley a presentation to acknowledge the achievement of the former Manchester United ace occurred, with Charlton handing over an honorary gold cap.
Beckham would draw level with Moore’s tally of 108 caps and eventually surpass it during a friendly with Slovakia, where he assisted a goal for Wayne Rooney.
However, it would not be a fairytale ending for one of England’s greatest ever players – with no further appearance at a major tournament.
A true #ThreeLions legend. 🏴#OnThisDay 12 years ago, David Beckham made his final @England appearance in a 3-0 win over Belarus. pic.twitter.com/6OXS17Acnw— England (@England) October 14, 2021
A ruptured Achilles tendon injury in March, 2010 saw Beckham ruled out of the World Cup in Germany that summer and he would never play for his country again with Capello looking to the future after another disappointing campaign.
Club success would continue and Beckham played for LA Galaxy until 2012, winning back-to-back MLS Cups, before a short stint at Paris St Germain in 2013 where he retired after helping them to the Ligue 1 title.
