VETERAN keeper David Seaman came under growing pressure to retire from international football after his first-half howler heaped further embarrassment on England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

For the second time in four months, Seaman's ability to perform at the highest level was called into question after he was beaten once again by a speculative strike from distance in an episode all too reminiscent of

Ronaldinho's winner for Brazil in the World Cup quarter-finals in the summer.

And, though goals from David Beckham and Steven Gerrard ultimately saved England from a potentially disastrous defeat, it remains to be seen whether or not they also saved Seaman from losing his job.

The week had started with newspaper revelations surrounding Eriksson's performances between the sheets but it was Seaman's frailities between the posts which was the hot topic on everyone's lips as disgruntled fans filed away from Southampton's plushly-appointed St Mary's Stadium into the cold Hampshire night.

Few would argue that the Arsenal stalwart has been the outstanding keeper of his generation during the last 10 years but old father time has a nasty habit of catching up with everyone eventually and surely the time has now come for the 39-year-old to step aside before he loses what credability he has left.

He almost fell on his sword in the summer after his fatal error of judgement in Shizuoka all but cost England a place in the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Then here, in front of a record crowd of 32,095, history cruelly repeated itself again as Artim Sakiri added his name to a growing list of people who have embarrassed Seaman from distance.

The ageing process is an unforgiving force and it had a similar effect on his predecessor, the great Peter Shilton, in Italia '90.

He was another who had served his country with honour and distinction yet the one abiding memory of his legacy was a leaden-footed display against Germany in the World Cup semi-final when England's dreams were dashed once

again.

Although it's harsh to lay the blame for another inept performance entirely at Seaman's door, his costly ninth minute error did much to set the tone for the rest of the night as complacency spread through the rest of the team

like wild-fire in what was one of the poorest England's performances in recent memory.

Jonathan Woodgate looked hesitant at the back, there was a distinct lack of quality from the men in midfield, and Alan Smith's partnership with Michael Owen up front failed to provide the kind of spark it had promised on paper --

so much so that Smith's frustration finally got the better of him, resulting in another red card.

And then, of course, there was the age-old problem on the left-hand side. E

riksson, perhaps swayed by sentiment, plumped for Southampton's Wayne Bridge in midfield, just in front of Ashley Cole who continued at full-back.

But that experiment failed to have the desired effect as Bridge was replaced shortly after half-time as England became increasingly reliant on a Beckham set-piece. This was the perfect tie to introduce David Thompson, but he never even made the bench.

The home side could hardly have made a worse possible start.

Macedonia won a corner out on the right in the ninth minute and Sakiri's well-flighted flag-kick completely deceived Seaman who was once again left clutching thin air as it sailed in at the far post.

Thankfully, the visitor's joy was shortlived as Beckham then restored parity within five minutes as Paul Scholes picked him out with a beautifully weighted pass and the trusty skipper steadied himself before executing the perfect chip over the stranded Petar Milosevski.

That should have given England the platform they needed to then take the game by the scruff of the neck but sadly Seaman's form proved contagious.

Macedonia's second of the night was a comedy of errors. First, Gerrard gave the ball away following a careless pass in midfield, then Sol Campbell made a complete hash of clearing Sakiri's tame drive, allowing Vanco Trajanov to drill a low 20-yarder into the bottom corner.

Suddenly, the unthinkable looked on the cards and even Eriksson, who temporarily vacated his seat in the dug-out, looked rattled.

Chances came and went as first Beckham and then Scholes missed the target from inviting positions.

But an equaliser eventually arrived in the 36th minute when Gerrard smashed a thunderous volley into the roof of the net after the Macedonian defence had failed to deal with a header from Beckham.

That failed to signal the end of England's problems, however.

Gerrard was stretchered off in the 54th minute after his injury jinx struck again.

Then Woodgate, Smith and substitute Darius Vassell all missed golden chances to grab a winner as the crowd bayed for the blood of stubborn opponents who used every trick in the book to run down the clock.

That frustration finally boiled over in the dying seconds when Smith saw red for a rash challenge over by the corner flag -- a disappointing end to a desperately disappointing night.

ENGLAND... 2 MACEDONIA... 2

England: Seaman, Neville, Cole, Gerrard, Woodgate, Campbell, Beckham, Scholes, Smith, Owen, Bridge. Subs: Butt (for Gerrard, 56), Vassell (for Bridge, 59) Not used: Mills, Southgate, Hargreaves, Lampard, James.

Macedonia: Milosevski, Popov, Petrov, Sedloski, Vasoski, Sumolikoski, Trajanov, Mitreski, Toleski, Sakiri, Grozdanovski. Subs: Pandev (for Toleski, 62), Stojanoski (for Trajanov, 90) Not used: Nikoloski, Grncarov, Vajs, Ignatov, Nacevski.

Referee: Arturo Ibanez (Spain)