Lampard to captain England vs Spain

chelseafc.com wrote:Frank Lampard will captain England against Spain on Saturday it has been confirmed by Fabio Capello.

The match is the first of back-to-back friendlies at Wembley for the England side, with Sweden the opposition on Tuesday. John Terry will resume captaincy for that Sweden game.

With Terry not in the starting line-up for the first game, Lampard indicated it feels natural to be taking on the team leadership role on a temporary basis.

'It is not difficult at all,' he said. 'It is just a very proud moment for me. I have no hold on the captain's armband, I have no wishes to try to get it; now I am just very honoured to have it for the second time.

'John Terry is the captain, he is a very good captain and I have had quite a few games at Chelsea when he has been not in the team for whatever reason, and tomorrow will be just the same as that.

'John is coping just fine,' Lampard added. 'He is coping as he has always coped and we have all had those moments in football, I have had them personally when it is a difficult time for whatever reason, and John certainly has a very strong character and everybody knows that. '

'Terry will be really important in the dressing room,' Capello stated. 'Tomorrow he will be on the bench like the other players and we have six substitutions which I will decide during the game.'

Looking at the game against Spain, Lampard called for England to assert themselves against the world and European champions.

'It is a huge day for us tomorrow, playing against the top team in the world. We have to say that we are England, we are playing at home and we have to counteract what you have got, so we have to be aware of their strengths. '