Lampard takes England armband

Fabio Capello has confirmed that Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard will captain England in Saturday’s friendly against Spain at Wembley.

Capello went on to say that John Terry would return as captain for the following game against Sweden despite his recent racism row.

When asked about Terry, Capello responded: “He is team leader because he is always important to the England team.”

“He will play against Sweden but he will be on the bench (against Spain), like the other players I can put out all the other players I selected, I can make six substitutions and I will decide the substitutions during the game.”

The build-up to the game had been overshadowed by England’s wish to wear shirts adorned with poppies to commemorate Remembrance Day and Capello insisted he was aware of the importance of the gesture.

He continued: “I respect the soldiers that died and I’m proud to put this (poppy) on, really proud because the sacrifice of the soldiers was really important.”

“What FIFA decided is a political problem and not my problem.”