Terry merry after being handed armband

John Terry received the perfect pick-me-up after his Champions League final misery by being restored as England captain for the friendly international with the United States at Wembley on Wednesday evening.

The Chelsea skipper was in the depths of despair after missing the spot-kick which would have given his side victory over Manchester United in Moscow last Wednesday.

But Fabio Capello has shown his confidence in the 27-year-old by handing him the armband and said: "It's a good decision for John Terry after Wednesday. 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."

Terry had been named as successor to David Beckham by Capello's predecessor Steve McClaren in the summer of 2006 after the World Cup finals in Germany.

He was unavailable for the first match of Capello's reign against Switzerland in February because of injury when Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard led the side out.

But, when Terry returned against France for the March clash in Paris, it was Manchester United central defender Rio Ferdinand who was named as captain by the Italian.

Capello has said he wants his permanent skipper in place by the time England play their final friendly before the World Cup qualifiers against the Czech Republic at Wembley in August.

The only other game he has to experiment with in terms of the captaincy is away to Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday - a match to which several of the players who took part in the Champions League final may not travel.

Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry, who is rated highly by Capello, is a candidate to lead the side in the Carribean especially if the likes of Terry and Ferdinand do not participate.