John Terry was today bracing himself for the news that he has missed out on retaining the England captaincy for the World Cup qualifying campaign.

Instead, Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand is the favourite to be named by Fabio Capello as the new permanent captain.

Two years ago, Terry was handed the armband by then England coach Steve McClaren following another two-horse race, this time with Steven Gerrard, but today Capello looks likely to give Ferdinand the nod.

Chelsea skipper Terry, whose tenure leading out England ended with a failure to qualify for Euro 2008, will be bitterly disappointed should Ferdinand be handed the captaincy but Capello's decision could be influenced by the need for a fresh start before a vital qualifying campaign which hopefully ends in South Africa and the 2010 World Cup Finals.

Capello has taken his time before coming to a decision and although he could still spring a surprise, all the signs point to Ferdinand as England's new captain starting in tomorrow's friendly against the Czech Republic at Wembley.

It's the last game before the qualifying campaign kicks off next month with two ties, against Andorra, in Barcelona, and then a much tougher challenge against Slaven Bilic's Croatia, in Zagreb.

It is understood Capello has been vastly impressed by Ferdinand since he took over as England coach, so much so that the Italian rates him as one of the outstanding central defenders in world football.

The former West Ham star had his problems early in his career, culminating in an eight-month suspension in 2004 for failing to take a drugs test.

Since then, though, Ferdinand has rebuilt his reputation and he confirmed his status as a top-class captain and defender when leading United to their Champions League victory over Chelsea last season.

Terry's club-mate Joe Cole, meanwhile, today listed the qualities needed to make a good England captain.

"The main thing is that he needs to be respected by the whole squad, he needs to be strong and have the manager's ear, to be the connection between the players and the manager," said Cole.

"When you go out onto the pitch you all have to be leaders, you all have to take responsibility. If you're a defender you have to organise whether you have the armband on or not and if you're in midfield you have responsibilities going forward or coming back."

Cole, like most of the rest of the country, has been cheering on Great Britain's Olympians and said today he would be in favour of a British team in the Games in London in four years' time.

The Olympic football tournament is, under current rules, for players under 23 but two over-age players are allowed in the team.

"I would love to be part of a Great Britain team in the Olympics," he said. "We've been talking about it and I'm sure most of the boys would feel the same.

"To represent your country at an Olympics would be fantastic. If anything could be worked out I would love to be there.

"With all due respect to the Olympics, though, the World Cup is on another level because it is our national sport.

"We have to learn from the teams that did well in Euro 2008. Spain are now the best team in Europe and if you had said that two years ago, they wouldn't have believed you. I'm optimistic about what lies ahead but we have to deal with the pressure, the expectations.

"It was difficult to watch Euro 2008. I watched the matches on TV but after it was finished you began thinking that we could have been there, that's when it was difficult."