Nicolas Anelka has hailed John Terry as the right man to captain England in the long run after Rio Ferdinand was given the role against France.Anelka is expected to line up against his Chelsea team-mate in Paris on Wednesday evening and he admits he anticipates a tough game against a player he sees as a natural leader on the pitch.

"I would have John as captain of England if I was England manager, that's for sure," he said.

"Sometimes it's harder to be captain of Chelsea than it is of England. So if he can captain Chelsea, he can certainly do it for England.

"I think he is world class. When you play for Chelsea you have to be world class. He's a captain, he's playing all the top games for us in the Premier League and the Champions League and he's a top player."

Terry, captain under Steve McClaren, missed Fabio Capello's first match as national boss, when Liverpool's Steven Gerrard led the side.

The Italian has already revealed he would rotate the captaincy before deciding on a permanent skipper but Terry had been expected to get the nod against Les Bleus.

The 27-year-old was in the news last week when he led Chelsea protests against referee Mike Riley's booking of Ashley Cole for a bad tackle on Tottenham's Alan Hutton.

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