David Beckham confident fresh England players can shine at winter World Cup

David Beckham believes a winter World Cup could be an advantage for England as he praised the current team for being “more than just footballers”.

Beckham played 115 times for England between 1996 and 2009, scoring 17 goals, and only Wayne Rooney and Peter Shilton have more caps for the Three Lions.

Speaking to Gary Neville on his YouTube show The Overlap, the former England captain revealed how much he enjoys watching Gareth Southgate’s team.

“I really love watching this England team play. They’re exciting, they play with passion, they play like they want to be there and it’s something that as an England fan – that’s what you want to see,” Beckham said.

“There’s an excitement in this England team and these players – they’re more than just footballers.

“What I love about this generation of players, particularly in England, is with the power that they have on the field – they’re trying to make change off the field.

“I see the work that Marcus (Rashford) has done and I see the work that Raheem (Sterling) has done and I see the work that other players have done that are in those positions, the good that they’re doing outside of the game is exceptional, it’s really exceptional.

“They’re using their platform to be able to help other people and to make change.”

Beckham represented England at three World Cups – 1998, 2002 and 2006 – and admitted they went into the tournaments exhausted after the end of a “gruelling” Premier League season.

He believes a winter edition of the competition could favour Southgate’s side, saying: “Personally I feel for our team, I feel like it (the move to November) is a huge opportunity.

“We never did use it as an excuse, but truth be told we came to the end of a gruelling season in the Premiership – the toughest league in the world – and you are tired, you do want a rest, you don’t have that time to recover from a tough season.

“But these players are coming into this tournament at a time where they’re at their peak. They’ve had their rest, they’re in the middle of their season, there’s no reason or no excuse for them not to be at the top of their game and at the top of their fitness.”