Steven Gerrard will be on the bench for England's final World Cup game
against Costa Rica allowing Frank Lampard to captain the side on what
is looks like his final international appearance.
Gerrard is thinking about his future after England's surprise group stage exit from the World Cup.
Lampard has opted to leave Chelsea and the 36-year-old is not expected to play for England again after Tuesday's game.Luke Shaw and Ross Barkley will start the game but Leighton Baines and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are out due to injury.
Lampard captained his country
in the pre-tournament friendly against Ecuador on 4 June.
The midfielder has 105 caps in an England career that began back to October 1999, when he made his debut against Belgium. Lampard
became the eighth England player to win 100 caps back in September last year. when he played against Ukraine
The veteran who has played in five major tournaments, including this summer's disappointing show, Lampard stands joint ninth on the all-time list of England goalscorers with 29. He last scored against Republic of Ireland in May 2013. "I don't know whether I will carry on," said Lampard. "I will get home and make a decision at that point because I have my future at home to sort out as well. "This is not the time or the place. Sitting in your room for a month, you don't always come up with the right judgement." With Gerrard's England career still in the balance, it creates the possibility of the present captain not leading his country on what could be his final appearance.
Baines' absence with a hamstring injury means 18-year-old left-back Shaw get his first competitive start for the three lions, becoming the second youngest player to play for England at a World Cup, behind former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker Michael Owen.
Arsenal midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain has suffered a setback in his recovery from the knee injury he sustained in the pre-World Cup friendly draw against Ecuador.
Hodgson said: "Alex had a slight recurrence of the knee problem and will be out. The hamstring injury to Leighton Baines has ruled him out, too."
England at the World Cup |
|---|
|
v Italy: Hart, Johnson, Jagielka, Cahill,
Baines, Gerrard, Henderson (Wilshere 73), Sterling, Rooney, Welbeck
(Barkley 61), Sturridge (Lallana 80) |
|
v Uruguay: Hart, Johnson, Jagielka, Cahill,
Baines, Gerrard, Henderson (Lambert 87), Sterling (Barkley 64), Rooney,
Welbeck (Lallana 71), Sturridge |
|
Yet to play: Foster, Forster, Jones, Shaw, Smalling, Lampard, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain |
but changes will be made against opponents who have already secured a place in the knockout stages.
"If you interpret that as planning for the future I would understand but basically it's not planning the future and it's certainly not sentiment," said Hodgson, who said Gerrard will play some part.
"I'm making certain a group of players I personally believe have done everything they possibly could to give us some success on the field, coming home far too early and bitterly disappointed, get a chance at least to say 'that I wasn't just there for the ride'."
Fifteen players in the 23-man squad have featured in Brazil so far.

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