RIO SHOWS CAPTAIN CREDENTIALS

Ferdinand chases Defoe.

Rio Ferdinand has made no secret of his determination to be England's next captain and has given Fabio Capello more reminders of his qualities - despite handing the Manchester United armband back to Gary Neville.

It was Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs who lifted the Champions League together in May after the centre-back led the team out in Moscow and the vice-captain came off the bench before the penalty drama at Luzhniki Stadium.

The same happened when United were crowned Premier League champions at Wigan, and even though Neville is now back from his long-term injury and Ferdinand is technically third-choice skipper at his club, Capello has been judge of a hard-fought contest for who should be his own leader.

The England boss said the choice should be made by the time England face Czech Republic a week on Wednesday - and Ferdinand has made a compelling case along with John Terry and Steven Gerrard.

While most of the England players in the United and Chelsea ranks were given a rest instead of travelling to Trinidad and Tobago for an end-of-season friendly, Ferdinand travelled and took part in community coaching sessions with local children.

Granted, he has family links with the Caribbean, but Ferdinand said: "I want to play for my country. He (Capello) asked me what I wanted to do and I told him that if he wanted me to play I'm available willing to play."

He then travelled to Nigeria for some of the charity commitments he has undertaken, so it has hardly been a summer of relaxing for the 29-year-old and instead he has been featuring the type of work off the pitch that England boss Capello feels is important from his skipper.

On the pitch, it was business as usual for Ferdinand against Portsmouth in the Community Shield, with Capello watching from the stands at Wembley.

It was a curtain-raiser that did not get into top gear, and Ferdinand looked calm as usual at the heart of United's defence - it was centre-back partner Nemanja Vidic who looked like suffering from pre-season rustiness.

The Serbia international made a few uncharacteristic errors and even earned a yellow card for kicking the ball away after a decision went against him.

With Capello watching, there would none of that ill-discipline from Ferdinand, or the other England players for that matter, particularly as the Football Association had emphasised their Respect campaign before the match.

With captains now taking more responsibility in communicating with referees, Ferdinand was left to concentrate on the defending which makes him an almost automatic choice for Capello's starting XI, regardless of whether he gets the armband.

Around 70 seconds had gone when he blocked a long-range effort from Lassana Diarra, and he won his battle with Peter Crouch, no doubt benefiting from training with his England team-mate at their London Colney base.

Ferdinand also showed his range of passing by getting Nani behind the Portsmouth defence - he was unfortunate not to earn a free-kick as he raced through - and the centre-back also marauded forward to smash a shot into the side-netting before the match went to penalties.

When United won on penalties, starting this season as they finished the last, it was Neville who led the team up the stairs to lift the shield.

And what else would Capello learn? Glen Johnson did not do himself many favours by losing the ball to Nani in a dangerous position in the first half, and then he missed the final spot-kick in the shoot-out.

With Neville looking for time on the pitch rather than pushing for an international recall, it was Wes Brown who benefited most from the three England right-backs on show.

Elsewhere, the 'little-and-large' partnership of Crouch and Jermain Defoe clearly needs time to gel, although they will not be facing defenders like Ferdinand every week.