England coach Roy Hodgson says Chelsea fullback Ashley Cole will be captain for the entire game tonight against the Republic of Ireland.
It was put to Hodgson that a situation where Cole fulfils all the duties before kick-off and then passes the job on to Frank Lampard could be seen as somewhat comical.
Hodgson said: "No. He is captain as well. The fact is that he, as you well know, does not enjoy the responsibility of talking publicly and that is why maybe in the past when the England captaincy has come up in the past I am sure his name will have been considered but he shied away from that and he will have been happy to play under others.
"But on this occasion we all think this is the right thing to do, and he is happy to accept that - he was also maybe satisfied with our compromise, that with the press conference today, Frank Lampard would be the one coming in and speaking for the team here, whereas he (Cole) will be doing his talking with his feet tomorrow evening on the pitch."
Pushed further as to whether Cole would be captain for the match, Hodgson said: "Yes."