Phil Jagielka honoured to captain England

Phil Jagielka says the opportunity to captain England in their final Euro 2016 qualification Group E clash in Lithuania on Monday night will be a “great honour”.

Three Lions coach Roy Hodgson handed the armband to the Everton central defender, with regular captain Wayne Rooney missing because of an ankle injury.

Chelsea stopper Gary Cahill took over duties for Friday’s 2-0 win against Estonia at Wembley, but he has since returned to his club having been rested for the game in Vilnius.

It will be the first time Jagielka has started a game as captain and he will wear the armband with pride as England look to become only the sixth team to win every qualifying game on the way to the European Championship finals.

He said: “I’m obviously delighted that Roy came and found me and broke the news. It’s a great honour for me personally.

“We’ve got a big task ahead of us and it’s something we can be proud of. We started this campaign a while ago and the job was to try to win every single game.

“Normally you say that and probably not a lot of people expect you to do so but we’ve got some great performances along the way.”

Jagielka added: “With a few of the boys going [home] and a few of us getting a bit of an opportunity, whether you’ve got caps or not, these are the opportunities you want.”

Jack Butland is poised to start in goal, with Joe Hart being released back to Manchester City, while there will also be outings for Phil Jones and Jonjo Shelvey.

England are 1.33 to win, Lithuania are 10.00 and the draw is 4.75.