England v Ireland: Lampard happy to hand Cole captaincy

Frank Lampard says handing over the captaincy of the national team to Ashley Cole is a "perfect gesture" to commemorate his Chelsea team-mate's century of caps.

Lampard is feeling "confident" after earning a Europa League winner's medal and becoming Chelsea's all-time top goalscorer in recent weeks, but says playing with England is "completely different" to his end-of-season success.

England are set to face Republic of Ireland for the first time since 1995 as part of the Football Association's 150th anniversary celebrations on Wednesday before facing Brazil on Saturday 2 June.