CAPTAIN MARCEL

Desailly took the armband from Didier Deschamps as he left the field against England and the 32-year-old is ready to take up the challenge.

"Being the new captain of the World and European champions gives me a new challenge and I'll have a lot of responsibility," said Desailly. "The captain's armband means a lot to me."

With Deschamps and Laurent Blanc both retiring from international football, Desailly is the most capped player and is a natural choice as skipper.

"I'm playing down my new role as captain of France," added the Chelsea defender. "I won't take it to mean that I've suddenly become the most important man on Earth. I'll just try and be dignified in my new role."

The new skipper is confident that the team he is taking over can contiue to be successfull and is still as strong despite the retirements of key players.

"I don't think we'll suffer that much. We can already count on Leboeuf and Viera to cover the departures of Blanc and Deschamps."