Rio set to skipper England

Rio Ferdinand could follow Darren Fletcher in leading out his national team this weekend, following an injury in training to England captain John Terry.

If Terry's ruled out, then vice-captain Ferdinand would be the automatic choice to pull on the armband for the Wembley clash with Kazakhstan. As the first home qualifier, this match will be an important step towards World Cup qualification but Rio insists his ambitions are much higher than merely being on the plane to South Africa in 2010.

"With England I have been very disappointed," said Rio at a pre-match press conference.

"It's not just that I have never won anything with England, I have not even been in a position to win something by getting to a major final.

"I regard that is disappointing and the hunger to achieve something is only enhanced by the trophies I have won with Manchester United."

Rio's United team-mates Wes Brown and Wayne Rooney could also start for England on Saturday, while selection for future squads will no doubt be a goal for the currently or recently injured Michael Carrick, Ben Foster, Owen Hargreaves and Gary Neville.