Owen delighted to takeover England captaincy

Michael Owen will captain England for this week's World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan.

David Beckham suffered a fractured rib in a clash with Ben Thatcher after scoring in England's 2-0 win against Wales.

He would also have been suspended after picking up a yellow card, leaving Owen to take over the captaincy in Baku.

Owen said: "The last time I captained the team I think I scored two goals, so hopefully that's a good omen - we're in great heart, despite David's injury."

He added: "If I am captain it will be a great honour, although obviously I would prefer it if we had David Beckham in the team, especially after he proved his quality with the great goal."

"It's been great to be with England this week, a real breath of fresh air."

"I haven't had many minutes on the pitch in Madrid and if you aren't playing then you can't score goals, so to get 90 minutes was great."