Terry is named captain for USA match

LONDON, England -- England coach Fabio Capello gave Chelsea defender John Terry a welcome boost by naming him as captain for the friendly international against the USA at Wembley on Wednesday.

Terry, in the depths of despair after missing the penalty which would have made Chelsea European Champions in Moscow last week, has been given the armband again.

He is the third different player to lead the side since Capello succeeded Steve McClaren, who put Terry in charge after deciding to leave out David Beckham after the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany.

Terry was unavailable for Capello's first game at the helm when Steven Gerrard was given the captaincy.

Terry was back in the team which played France in March, but Rio Ferdinand took over the captain's role.

Capello has said that he wants his choice of permanent captain decided by the time England take the field for their final outing before the World Cup qualifiers, a friendly against the Czech Republic at Wembley in August.

There is a further chance to experiment of he wishes, when England play Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain on Sunday. Several of the players who appeared in the Champions League final may not travel for that encounter and Aston Villa's Gareth Barry could be in charge.

Capello, who spoke at his Tuesday press conference in English for the first time, said that he had made the decision to appoint Terry before the Champions League final.

"It's a good decision for John Terry after Wednesday," Capello said. "He played very well. I told him he'll be the captain and he was very, very happy. It's very important to be a leader and John Terry's a leader."

Capello is keen to restore morale of all the Chelsea players in his squad after their disappointment in the Champions League final.

"It is very important that the Chelsea players play with the national team so they can forget the last game in Moscow. I plan to use all the Chelsea players in these two games," he said.

David Beckham is also in the squad after winning his 100th cap against France and Capello is impressed with his fitness after starting the new Major League Soccer season with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

"He's very fresh, like USA's players," Capello said. "They've just started the season. The future is good for him, there's no problem. He's very fit."

Capello has given his players double training sessions and insisted there have been no complaints.

"We want to recover their minds and bodies after 10 days holidays but the players have worked very well," Capello said.

"The two friendlies are very important because I will know what I think about every position after these games," he said.

"It will be a strong game. I saw their three games and the United States scored seven goals, with only two conceded.

"They have good organization and are very fast on the counter-attack. They scored a lot of goals from free-kicks and corners because they jump very well."

"I think it is a very important test for us. They are very fresh. For us it will be important to play at a high level."