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Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has been named England captain for the friendly against Denmark on Wednesday.
Lampard, 32, takes over from regular skipper Rio Ferdinand and vice-captain Steven Gerrard, who were both injured playing for their clubs last weekend.
England boss Fabio Capello also said that Arsenal's Jack Wilshere would make his full debut alongside Lampard.
"I am very proud, it is quite unexpected," stated Lampard, who will captain England for the first time.
"I've been in the squad for quite a long time time now and I feel like one of the old stagers. It will be one of the proudest moments of my career to lead out the boys.
"I'll try and do what I do for Chelsea. I'm not going to change just because of the armband. The team will always need leaders and I will try and do my usual job but try and have an influence on the team."
Lampard has 83 England caps and has scored 20 goals for his country but he has had an injury-hit season for Chelsea and has not played in an international match since the friendly against Hungary in August.
"I spoke with him about injuries that he has suffered and I have been monitoring the last five games he has played. He has improved a lot," said Capello.
"I watched him against Liverpool and he played a really good game. Probably he is fresher than the other players."
Capello also confirmed that Chelsea's Ashley Cole would start, making him England's most capped full-back, while Aston Villa striker Darren Bent will play up front.
Manchester City's Joe Hart will also begin the match, earning his eighth cap in goal.
The Italian said Wilshere, 19, would play in a more defensive midfielder role, allowing Lampard to surge forward.
"I monitored Wilshere for a long time at start of the season and he played well but was not ready for the seniors," Capello added at a news conference in Copenhagen.
"The last two months he has improved, he is confident and the other Arsenal players are confident with him. I spoke to [Arsenal boss] Arsene Wenger about the position to play him in on Wednesday and he said he was good going forward and also playing further back.
"I hope the option will be for him to stay in front of the back four, like a centre-back."
Lampard added: "I don't think he needs much help, the way he's playing. He's been fantastic for Arsenal.
"Some players take a while in the transition into the full team. He looks like he's got the mental attitude to fit right in. I'm looking forward to playing alongside him."
On the achievement of Chelsea team-mate Cole, who has also just been voted England fans' player of the year, Lampard said: "He's quite well recognised now as our greatest ever left-back.
"It's great to see the England fans, once they take away some of the nonsense from outside and talk about his performances, recognise him as the best player of the year."
Ferdinand pulled out of the squad because of a calf problem he suffered before Manchester United lost to Wolves on Saturday, while Liverpool skipper Gerrard hurt his groin at Chelsea on Sunday, having completed 90 minutes.
Other players, such as Tottenham's Peter Crouch and Birmingham keeper Ben Foster, have also dropped out leading to question marks over the value of the isolated friendly fixture in the Danish capital.
But Capello said the game would give him an opportunity to try out new things.
"In this team I found every time a good spirit," he said. "I am really happy with the players. Sometimes people can't see that they play with pride. Every time the players play with 100%, but sometimes that is not enough.
"Wednesday is a friendly game and lots of the players aren't here. But it will be interesting to see the other players who can be the future. Friendlies are important for experiments.
"The players are really happy to play tomorrow [Wednesday] for England. The Champions League will be the next thing they go on to after this. I haven't a problem with the clubs or managers. Every time we speak they help me every time.
"Denmark are a good team, who played in the World Cup. Their style is not unlike the northern European countries - they prefer to play in an Arsenal or Spain style. It will be important to see how we play against teams that play with style."
Capello, who is worried by the small pool of English players in the Premier League, added that the game would be important to assess his team ahead of the Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales on 26 March.
Capello complaining about number of foreign players in PL:
"At this moment the club football in England is the best in the world but with the national teams the Premier League only has 33% of which are English players. In Spain, France, Germany, Italy it's much more - so the selection of players is not so easy as the other countries."
