Frank Lampard will become only the eighth player to reach the 100-cap mark for England (Tuesday) his national manager Roy Hodgson has announced.Speaking in Ukraine ahead of the very important World Cup qualifier, Hodgson said:
'He [Lampard] will play tomorrow night and I have been very lucky to have three players play their 100
th game during the time I have been manager. All things being equal Frank will play and start the game tomorrow.
'I don't think there will be many players who will play for England
for two or three years, let alone 14 years. Fourteen years is a long
time to be representing your country.'
With Hodgson revealing there will only be one change from the side
that started against Moldova on Friday, a replacement for suspended
Danny Welbeck, Lampard will start the game alongside two players who
also recently joined the exclusive group, Chelsea team-mate
Ashley Cole, who earned his 100th cap against Brazil earlier this year, and Steven Gerrard.
The other players to have made 100 appearances for England are Billy
Wright, Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore, Peter Shilton and David Beckham.
Lampard, who has won all but two of his caps since moving to Stamford
Bridge, made his international debut in October 1999 in a 2-1 friendly
win against Belgium at the Stadium of Light, playing 76 minutes before
being replaced by
Dennis Wise.
His first senior international goal came in a 3-1 win against Croatia
in August 2003 at Portman Road, when he fired into the roof of the net
from 25 yards to put the seal on the victory.
A year later, at the European Championships, Lampard competed at his
first major international tournament, and while England were eliminated
at the quarter-final stage, on a personal note it was a fruitful
experience with the Blues midfielder scoring three goals in four games.
Supporters voted Lampard England's Player of the Year twice in
succession - in 2004 and 2005 - and his five goals in qualification
helped the national side secure their place at the 2006 World Cup in
Germany, but while he was an ever-present in the side throughout that
campaign, England again exited at the quarter-final stage after losing
to Portugal on penalties.
The 2010 World Cup will be remembered for the goal scored by Lampard
in the quarter-final defeat against Germany which, having clearly
crossed the line, was ruled out, highlighting the importance of
goal-line technology.
Lampard captained England for the first time in February 2011, in a
friendly against Denmark, and he was on target in the next two games as
their place at Euro 2012 was booked. Unfortunately for Lampard a thigh
injury ruled him out of the tournament.
His international career has seen him score winning goals against the
likes of Spain and Brazil, while in the current World Cup qualifying
campaign he has been a pivotal figure, scoring four times thus far.
In total, he has now scored 29 goals for his country and is England's ninth highest goalscorer.
Along with Lampard and Cole,
Petr Cech and
Fernando Torres are the other players at the club to have reached the 100-cap mark for their national teams.
'I enjoy being with this group of [England ] players,' Lampard said
this week. 'I enjoy the manager, I have a lot of respect for him.
'In enjoy playing alongside Steven [Gerrard] and Ashley [Cole], who I
have played with a long time, and England as a whole - we want to get
to the World Cup.'
England captain Steven Gerrard, speaking today at the same press
conference as Hodgson, said: 'It is going to be a fantastic occasion for
Frank and I am absolutely delighted for him that he will get the 100
caps.
'Obviously me and Ashley did that as well recently and we are going
to move onto the same number of caps as the legend Billy Wright so it is
going to be a special occasion all round, so we all want to remember it
for the right result. I lost on my 100th cap so hopefully that will be
different for Frank and he can go away with fond memories.'
Cole and Gerrard have made 104 England appearance ahead of tomorrow's game.
