David Beckham is to captain England in the friendly against Trinidad & Tobago.

England coach Fabio Capello has confirmed Beckham will be the next player to audition for the role in the build-up to the World Cup qualifiers.

Capello said: "The appointment is not a political move. I work for the game - not the political side of things.

"The political side is for the FA and they have not suggested to me that Beckham should be captain. There was no pressure put on me. No one could do that to me. I decided as I have decided throughout my life and when I was manager of a club. Beckham was very happy when I told him.

"I know David very well from our time together at Real Madrid and he did well for me after some problems at the start.

"I can change my mind about things and only stupid people never change their mind. He was very important for Real at the end. I know he gave up the England captaincy a couple of years ago but you can never say never. He was captain for a long time."

Capello has already given the captaincy to Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry.

But it is a major surprise that he has turned to Beckham, who resigned as captain after the 2006 World Cup and was then dropped from the squad by Capello's predecessor Steve McClaren.

Capello has promised to name a permanent England captain before the next competitive fixture against Andorra in September.

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