Former England captain Alan Shearer has said David Beckham is too good to be joining Major League Soccer in the US.

Beckham returned to international action on Friday, floating a free-kick for John Terry to score in the 1-1 draw against Brazil at new Wembley, and is expected to retain his place for the Euro 2008 qualifier with Estonia on Wednesday.

However, his England renaissance may be short-lived because of his move to Los Angeles Galaxy after his contract with Real Madrid expires at the end of the month.

Shearer said: “I don’t know if David is regretting going to LA Galaxy. But he’s better than that standard, without a shadow of a doubt.

“He showed that with his performance against Brazil. I wouldn’t worry about him taking part in the rest of the qualifiers, though.

“Yes, there are some long flights involved. But he can handle that and he won’t have forgotten how to compete in the space of three months.”

However, Shearer feels a trip to Austria and Switzerland for next summer’s championships could be beyond the 32-year-old. “The problem may come when Steve McClaren gets round to assessing his squad for the finals, provided we qualify. Then there will have to be a judgement made,” he said.

“Yet I don’t think Steve will be concerned about that right now. It’s not time to think about what happens over Christmas and January, when David will not be playing any football. All Steve wants at the moment is to make sure England qualify — and Beckham can help him do that.”