Gareth Barry admits he faces a battle to hold onto his England midfield spot despite being named captain for Tuesday's friendly with Ghana.
Barry has been handed the armband in the absence of John Terry, who has been allowed to return to Chelsea along with the other four players still involved in the Champions League.
But the Manchester City midfielder did not even feature amongst the substitutes for Saturday's 2-0 win over Wales in a Euro 2012 qualifier in Cardiff.
It was in stark contrast to Barry being one of the first names on Fabio Capello's team sheet up to and including last summer's World Cup.
