SCOTT Parker is to captain England for the first time in tonight’s friendly with Holland at Wembley, according to reports.

Interim coach Stuart Pearce was due to tell his players at 10am this morning who would lead the team, although he wanted the official announcement to wait until an hour before kick-off.

However, it is now being widely reported that Parker has got the nod ahead of Steven Gerrard.

The FA have so far refused to confirm the reports but it would continue a remarkable transformation for Parker.

Axed from Fabio Capello’s provisional World Cup squad without playing in either of the two warm-up matches, Parker’s international career appeared to be at an end.

However, when he was handed an unexpected chance in Denmark last February, it began a series of performances that led to him being crowned England’s 2011 player of the year.

The 31-year-old has excelled since his summer move from West Ham to Tottenham and has been one of the key figures in his club’s push for the Premier League title.

Pearce was determined to take his time over who would wear the armband, insisting he wanted to see how the players interacted with each other over the short build-up.

Although it has been claimed the entire captaincy issue is over-rated, Pearce yesterday disagreed, stating it was the proudest moment of his career when he did the job.

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