England soccer legend David Beckham has been called up to England squad for the first time under coach Steve McClaren, who dumped him after last year's World Cup.

Striker Michael Owen, England's front-line thriller who recovered from a lengthy knee injury, also came back.

"There's different reasons why we have been away, but we have all got the same reasons for being back," Owen said Thursday.

England captain John Terry said Beckham's return meant the team was "back to normal."

Terry became skipper after Beckham relinquished the captaincy after England lost to Portugal in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals of the World Cup on July 1.

"It's great to have him back," Terry said. "He's a familiar face and we know his quality. He's brought that into training and we are looking forward to him playing."

England will play a friendly against Brazil at the new Wembley Stadium on Friday and a must-win qualifier at Estonia next week.

(Xinhua News Agency June 1, 2007)