Captain David Beckham is free to join the England squad before their Euro 2004 qualifier against Macedonia after his new club Real Madrid brought forward a league game by 24 hours.

Real had been due to play Villarreal on Wednesday, just 24 hours before England fly out to Macedonia for their game on September 6.

After England coach Sven Goran Eriksson telephoned Real manager Carlos Queiroz, the Spanish champions arranged for the game to be played on Tuesday, the English FA said on its web site on Thursday.

"We are delighted that the game has been moved to the Tuesday night and we look forward to David Beckham joining the rest of the squad on the Wednesday lunchtime for training," it said.

Beckham, transferred from Manchester United in the close season, scored his first official goal for Real Madrid on Wednesday when they won the Super Cup against Real Mallorca.