Frank Lampard believes England coach Fabio Capello has “two great options” at his disposal.

He feels England are fortunate to be able to select Jermain Defoe or Emile Heskey for Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier with Croatia at Wembley.

Defoe has begun the current campaign in stunning form with Tottenham and he took his England goal tally to five in the last three internationals by netting against Slovenia on Saturday.

All of those appearances were as a second half substitute and Capello admits the former West Ham player is giving him food for thought.

But Heskey’s physical presence may prove invaluable against Croatia despite his shortage of goals and he was a key figure in the 4-1 win in Zagreb last September.

Lampard, who played alongside Defoe during his West Ham days, said: “The manager has to make the decision and we’ve got faith in him because he has shown he makes right decisions.

“Both players have made great cases to play on Wednesday. Jermain has hit the headlines recently because of his goal scoring.

“I’ve known him since he was 16 and believed he would eventually go to the top because he is a natural goal scorer.

“But Emile is also making a great case because of the way he has constantly played for England for a very long time.

“The manager has great options there, two different styles of player and it’s down to him which way he goes.”

Lampard is also backing another ex-club team mate in Glen Johnson after he came in for criticism for being partly at fault for the solitary Slovenian goal in their 2-1 defeat at Wembley.

Lampard said: “Jonno is a fantastic right-back. Everyone at some stage who is an England player comes under scrutiny and no one can have perfect games all the time.

“His form at club level has been fantastic for the last 18 months and has got him a well deserved move to Liverpool.

“His England form has also been good and he has given us an extra dimension down the right.

“We have always had left backs who have been good at getting forward in Ashley Cole and Wayne Bridge. Now Jonno is giving us that on the right.”

Lampard is determined to make-up for the misery of England failing to qualify for the 2008 European Championships after being beaten 3-2 by Croatia at Wembley.

He said: “That will only play on our minds in a positive way because it was a low point for all of us and the nation and we won’t forget that.

“We hope we can put that right on Wednesday and qualify for the World Cup finals with a couple of games to spare.

“It will be nice to go into that game having a lot of confidence and also not a depleted squad which was the case two years ago.

“People go on about the past matches between the countries but all we have to concentrate on really is the game coming up on Wednesday.”

Fabio Capello believes David Beckham still has a vital role to play with England even if he plays as a substitute.

Beckham has overtaken Sir Bobby Charlton and moved to within one appearance of the 108-cap tally achieved by World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore.

The 33-year-old made late substitute appearances against Kazakhstan and Belarus in England’s last two World Cup qualifiers.

There has been criticism in some quarters that the Los Angeles Galaxy star is picking up ‘cheap’ caps for his country after failing to start any of the four competitive games during the current campaign.

But Capello is adamant Beckham’s inclusion in his squad is justified as much for his off-the-field influence as the contribution he makes on the pitch.

And the Italian hinted Beckham could start the friendly international against Germany in Berlin next month, although he may not select him for the possible February match with Spain as it will be the close season for Galaxy.

There was a similar scenario last February when Beckham was not included in Capello’s plans for the opening game of his reign against Switzerland at Wembley.

Capello said: “For the next game, it is possible, Beckham will play, I don’t know. For the game against Spain, if he is not playing, he will not be in the squad.

“But, when I decide the squad, it is not for the few minutes that David Beckham plays. He is good for the group. This is important. In fact, this is very important - his influence.

“He knows everything. He transmits confidence in the other players. This is very important for the group.

“I have to choose the first XI and at the moment I choose Theo Walcott and Shaun Wright-Phillips who are playing well.

“Beckham might have played five minutes against Belarus but, for the next game, it is possible he might play all the game. I have to decide the best 11.”

As regards criticism over the way Beckham was adding to his caps tally, Capello is clearly unconcerned.

He said: “I don’t know how many caps he has. For me, it is not interesting to record everything. It is not in my mind. My mind is the victory, the game, the best 11. I don’t think about it.

“Does Beckham deserve to be in the company of Charlton and Moore? I don’t know. I don’t know how many games they played.”

Capello has been pleased to work with his squad for two blocks of 10 days during the past month via back-to-back qualifiers with Andorra and Croatia and now Kazakhstan and Belarus.

But he is unsure whether England will have the same energy and superior fitness levels when they resume their qualifying campaign against the Ukraine on April 1.

He said: “It is frustrating to now have six months without a competitive game but we knew this. We have been lucky because we have played two games twice. Some have only played three matches.

“We have to wait a lot now. At the moment we are in very good physical condition because we always play better in the second half of games because the other teams play strong and press a lot.

“In the last 20 minutes, they are competed out and we are strong. Whether we will be the same physical condition in April, I don’t know.”

Despite England’s flying start to their group, which has yielded a maximum 12 points and 13 goals, Capello believes there is still room for improvement.

He said: “I am still looking for improvement. There are areas we can still improve on.

“We have good players. Now we have confidence. But we have to play every game like the final. I have said this to the players.

England are set to play Spain in a friendly next year - but will not allow the fixture to be held in Madrid.

Contrary to reports, the Football Association are committed to a game against the European Champions - which was personally requested by coach Fabio Capello.

Although an official agreement is yet to be reached between the FA and their Spanish counterparts, the fixture is expected to be played on Wednesday, February 11, the only remaining FIFA international date still to be filled.

However, the FA want to avoid a return to Madrid, mindful of the problems England experienced last time they visited the Spanish capital four years ago.

Shaun Wright-Phillips was abused - along with Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Jermain Defoe and Jermaine Jenas. The Spanish Federation were eventually fined US$77,300.

Given it was only last month that Emile Heskey was singled out for similar treatment in Croatia, England are keen to be taking a stand on such matters and have made it a condition of the game that it will not be held at the Bernabeu - Spain’s traditional, although not permanent, home and where Capello was coach up until last year.

“We are currently in discussions with the Spanish Federation with a view to playing the European Champions in Spain in February,” said FA director of communications Adrian Bevington.

“This fixture is one of the friendly games that Fabio Capello requested to play. But as yet, a venue is still to be confirmed and the contract still to be signed.

“However, from the outset, the FA, with Fabio, were clear we would not play the fixture in Madrid due to the incidents of racial abuse we faced last time.

“Fabio is totally supportive of this fixture.”

With Madrid ruled out, Seville and Valencia would appear the most likely alternatives - although the FA are keen to stress no venue is in place, aware that a significant number of fans will want to make their travel arrangements.

Rather than see the problem simply move from one city to another, the FA have vowed to work closely with the Spanish Federation on a number of anti-racism measures before the proposed fixture, which both bodies are expected to support.

Providing crowd problems - which reared their head in much milder form at Wembley on Saturday - can be successfully combated, the fixture would be an exciting one for the Three Lions.

Capello regards Spain as the best international side in Europe at the moment, and worthy winners of Euro 2008.

With Liverpool’s Fernando Torres spearheading their attack and Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas also in the Spain squad, there is significant Premier League interest.

Spain are currently captained by Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas and beat Estonia 3-0 on Saturday in their latest World Cup qualifier.