Gareth Barry will captain England against Ghana

Barry captained England against Ghana (GETTY IMAGES)

Fabio Capello has named Gareth Barry as England captain for tomorrow's friendly against Ghana.

The Italian released newly-appointed skipper John Terry from the squad following the Euro 2012 qualifying win over Wales on Saturday.

Manchester City midfielder Barry will take the armband against the World Cup quarter-finalists.

"He's a good player, a good captain," said Capello. "He's also the player with the most England caps."

Capello said he would not make 11 changes for the Ghana match, but would probably make seven.

He confirmed Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines and Andy Carroll would start the match.

Capello also said Scott Parker would keep his place in midfield if the West Ham man was fit.

"If Parker is fit he will play," he said.

"He's got some little problem but I hope he will be fit."

Capello insisted fans should not feel short-changed by England fielding a much-changed side, claiming fringe players need to experience the "spirit of the team".

"I respect the fans," he said.

"It will be interesting for the fans to see some players they know very well, it will be interesting for me and for the fans.

"The players who will play will be really good players, it's really important for the players to understand the spirit of the team and I hope tomorrow we can see the spirit on the pitch like in the first 30 minutes against Wales."

Capello has been accused of inconsistency after claiming he did not think it was right to inform Rio Ferdinand he had lost the captain's armband by telephone only for Steven Gerrard to admit yesterday he had been called by the Italian to discuss the issue.

When asked about it today, the England boss said: "Rio was the captain, Steve was the vice-captain.

"I hope that over the next few weeks I will meet with him (Ferdinand)."

Capello released four other players alongside Terry yesterday and explained it was so they avoided injury with important Champions League fixtures to come next week.

He said: "The players that aren't here, those that went home, are not here because if you are tired it is easy to be injured."

Capello also revealed he would support Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce should he decide to take the likes of Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll to this summer's European Under-21 Championships.

"Yeah, I will support him 100% because I think the players will be really important for the Under-21s," he added.

"Those players can make the difference."

Barry backed Capello's decision to release five senior players, although he admitted he could understand fans' disappointment.

"I can certainly see the reasons for (Capello's) decision," Barry said. "It's a tough part of the season, there are good reasons why the players were let home.

"There will be a few players chomping at the bit to take their chance."

"The fans have bought their tickets to maybe see certain individuals play for England, but the players selected were in the 26 from the start."

On being named captain, Barry said: "It's obviously going to be a massive moment in my career, a proud one.

"I'll be the same player as I always am. You don't put the armband on and change."

The Manchester City midfielder claimed he was not thinking about whether being named captain made up for being left out of the team to face Wales.

"I'm not trying to look at it in that sort of way, that's gone now," he said. "I was obviously disappointed not to be involved, but two days later I am being asked to lead the country out."

Barry also defended Capello's decision not to warn Wayne Rooney to curb his enthusiasm during Saturday's win over Wales.

Rooney already had a yellow card to his name heading into the game, and a booking for a robust challenge means he will now miss the crucial summer qualifier against Switzerland through suspension.

Barry said: "I go along with theory that it shouldn't matter. You can't go out playing a different game, you've got to play your natural game.

"I don't think the situation would have changed too much if he knew [about the booking]."

Barry also weighed into the speculation surrounding Jack Wilshere's likely involvement in this summer's European Under-21 Championships.

The 19-year-old impressed again for the senior side against Wales, but England Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce is keen to take the youngster to Denmark, which could put him on a collision course with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.

But Barry feels Wilshere's involvement in the tournament will be beneficial for the national team in the long term.

"For the development and the good of England then they should be out there playing," he said.

"It's always going to be a sticky situation. There are always reasons why they shouldn't. But I'm sure if you speak to the players they'll be wanting to play as much football as they can."