Rooney: Ready for England role
Fabio Capello has confirmed Wayne Rooney will captain England against Brazil on Saturday if John Terry is ruled out through injury.
The Italian is quietly confident that regular skipper Terry will recover from an ankle injury suffered in training but Rooney has been placed on standby.
It would be the first time the 24-year-old has done the job for England, having had only limited experience of the role with Manchester United.
But Capello is in no doubt England's standout player is the right man for the job.
"If John Terry doesn't play, it will be Wayne Rooney," said Capello.
"He is fit and he is ready to be a captain."
Given the number of senior players unavailable to Capello the only other viable alternative to Rooney would have been Gareth Barry.
The Manchester City midfielder admits it would have been a great honour had he been handed the captain's armband.
Barry led England for the second half of the away friendly with Trinidad and Tobago in June 2008.
He said: "When I led the side in Trinidad, it was one of the proudest days of my life.
"It is always a proud moment to captain your country and that was one of my best moments in football.
"If that chance comes again, it is always something that I will cherish.
"It would be special tomorrow as I have not yet won a cap against Brazil and I have been looking forward to achieving that for a while."

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Wigan v Stoke - 2nd Half
Wigan v Stoke - 1st Half
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 10th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Arsenal vs Liverpool |
| 19:45 | Aston Villa vs Man Utd |
| 19:45 | West Ham vs Birmingham |
| 19:45 | Wolverhampton vs Tottenham |
| 20:00 | Blackburn vs Hull |
| 20:00 | Everton vs Chelsea |
| Tuesday 16th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Stoke vs Man City |
| Wednesday 17th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | Wigan vs Bolton |
| Saturday 20th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Everton vs Man Utd |
| 15:00 | Arsenal vs Sunderland |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Hull |
| 15:00 | Wolverhampton vs Chelsea |
| 17:30 | Portsmouth vs Stoke |
| Sunday 21st February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 14:00 | Aston Villa vs Burnley |
| 15:00 | Fulham vs Birmingham |
| 15:00 | Man City vs Liverpool |
| 16:15 | Wigan vs Tottenham |
| Monday 22nd February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | Blackburn vs Bolton |
| Tuesday 23rd February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | Man Utd vs West Ham |
| Saturday 27th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Chelsea vs Man City |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Tuesday 9th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 2 - 0 Bolton | |
| Wigan 1 - 1 Stoke | |
| Portsmouth 1 - 1 Sunderland | |
| Fulham 3 - 0 Burnley | |
| Sunday 7th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Birmingham 2 - 1 Wolverhampton | |
| Chelsea 2 - 0 Arsenal | |
| Saturday 6th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 1 - 0 Everton | |
| Hull 2 - 1 Man City | |
| Stoke 3 - 0 Blackburn | |
| Bolton 0 - 0 Fulham | |
| Sunderland 1 - 1 Wigan | |
| Man Utd 5 - 0 Portsmouth | |
| Burnley 2 - 1 West Ham | |
| Tottenham 0 - 0 Aston Villa | |
| Wednesday 3rd February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Fulham 1 - 0 Portsmouth | |
| Tuesday 2nd February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Hull 1 - 1 Chelsea | |
| Monday 1st February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 0 - 0 Stoke | |
| Sunday 31st January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 2 - 0 Portsmouth | |
| Arsenal 1 - 3 Man Utd | |
| Saturday 30th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Birmingham 1 - 1 Tottenham | |
Chris Burton ponders whether captains should abide by stricter rules than their team-mates.
John Terry has been sacked as England captain and we would like to hear your thoughts on the move.
Andy Gray hopes that fans accept Fabio Capello's decision on who should be England captain.
Northern Ireland have targeted a friendly against England as the first match to be played at the new Windsor Park.
Barry Ferguson has revealed he has held talks with Craig Levein about returning to the Scotland fold.
Joachim Low has declared peace with the German Football Federation ahead of the World Cup.
Ronaldinho has failed to make the Brazil squad for their final World Cup warm-up match next month.
Roberto Martinez believes James McCarthy will snub a Scotland call-up in favour of the Republic of Ireland.
Comments (2)
Sherron Charles (Manchester United fan) says...
It will be a great moment if on Saturday Wayne is given the oppurunity tolead the England side. It will be testimony to the player and personality he has become. He is a leader by passion and that is the kind of general you want on the football 'battlefield'. I see him being the long term captain of not only his country but also to Manchester United. Good go WAZZA!!!
Posted 12:51 13th November 2009
Mark Healy says...
Go on Rooney, you can do that job standing on your head you desrve it :0)
Posted 12:38 13th November 2009