Rio Ferdinand will captain England in today'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 yesterday.

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 but if he plays will this time take his orders from his regular England partner.

The captaincy represents something of a comeback for 29-year-old Ferdinand, who fell foul of the FA in 2003 when he was fined and banned for eight months for missing a drugs test.

That ban ruled him out of the 2004 European Championship in Portugal but he was soon restored to the side where he has remained a regular.

Ferdinand, who became the world's most expensive defender when he moved from Leeds United to Old Trafford for around £30 million in 2002, made his England debut eight days after his 19th birthday, against Cameroon in a friendly in November 1997. He will win his 66th cap today.

Meanwhile, Capello said yesterday David Beckham will play some part in England's friendly today, when he will win his 100th cap.

"He will play, I couldn't possibly making him come from the United States and not play him," Capello said of the LA Galaxy player, without saying whether he would start the match.