Ferdinand to captain England against France

Rio Ferdinand will captain England in Wednesday's Paris friendly against France but coach Fabio Capello will not select his permanent skipper until his side begin their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.

"Capello has confirmed that this continues his approach of rotating the captaincy between players during the friendly matches before confirming the permanent captain for the qualifying games," the FA said in a statement on its Website (www.thefa.com).

Manchester United centre back Ferdinand takes over from Steven Gerrard, who captained the side for Capello's first game in charge against Switzerland when John Terry, captain under previous coach Steve McClaren, was injured.

Chelsea defender Terry is back in the squad for the Stade de France match. England start their 2010 qualifying campaign against Andorra on Sept. 6.

Picture:England's Rio Ferdinand and John Terry attend a team training session.