updated 9:02 p.m. ET Aug. 17, 2007

NEW YORK - David Beckham’s life is moving at mind-bending speed.

There are soccer clinics to preside over, news conferences to attend, flights to catch and somewhere in there, a little bit of soccer, too. Especially after he was chosen Friday to play for England next week against Germany.

He’s got it all planned out, though. After Wednesday night’s exhibition (“I’m not sure any game against Germany at Wembley is a friendly”), he intends to fly to Los Angeles in time to play in the Galaxy’s game against Chivas USA at 7 p.m. local time Thursday night — or 3 a.m. Friday in London.

“I haven’t done that since I was probably 8 years old or 9 years old when we used to play games Saturday-Sunday,” Beckham said. “I’m honored to have been called into the England squad again. That’s something I’ve always taken seriously and always will take seriously.”

Beckham was busy enough Friday, holding an afternoon soccer clinic in Harlem with New York Red Bulls stars Jozy Altidore and Juan Pablo Angel before facing a room full of about a hundred media members and a couple dozen TV cameras.

Once he leaves for England, he might not spend enough time on the ground to develop much in the way of jet lag. He plans to fly to London on Sunday, the morning after what figures to be his first Major League Soccer start against the Red Bulls.

Beckham was chosen to play for England despite a balky ankle that has limited his play in the States to just one start and a handful of appearances as a substitute.

The match at London’s new Wembley Stadium is England’s only game before European Championship qualifiers against Israel and Russia in early September. Both opponents lead fourth-place England in their group.

But before Becks can focus on Germany, he’s got Saturday’s game on Giants Stadium’s artificial turf to consider. The surface won’t be kind to his ankle, and he’s almost certain to be substituted. But it should be worth it for nearly all involved.

“I can tell that everyone on this team is really looking forward to this opportunity. David is a great guy and he just didn’t become famous in January,” said Red Bulls midfielder and former U.S. captain Claudio Reyna, an English Premier League veteran like Beckham. “I’m a soccer fan more than anything, and honestly, I’m glad he’s here. We appreciate the attention he brings to the game.”

Sunday morning, Beckham will be off to England to rest up before his soccerthon of two matches separated by eight time zones, 5,400 miles and about 29 hours from the conclusion of the Germany match and the start of the one against Chivas USA.

“It does get tiring of course, but I think if you look after yourself on and off the pitch then you can cope with anything,” Beckham said. “I definitely don’t think it’s going to affect my performances for my country or also for the Galaxy.”

He made his first start for Los Angeles in a SuperLiga match Wednesday night, taking over as captain after a discussion with Landon Donovan and then bending home a free kick for his first American goal. He also sent a ball that Donovan sped onto and buried for the Galaxy’s other goal in a 2-0 win.

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“I think great things are going to come from those two,” Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said. “We’ve got to start picking points up in the league and that’s the important thing that we’re focusing on now.”

More than 60,000 tickets have been distributed for Saturday’s regular-season MLS match against New York, Red Bulls spokesman Eric Tosi said. New York has averaged 11,573 fans in 10 home games this season.

“I’m very excited about this game and I think everyone gets excited, because we’ve never had anything like this before,” Altidore said. “I think we’re really going to take the big crowd to heart and perform well for the fans.”

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