David Beckham declared yesterday that he expects to remain an integral part of the England squad beyond winning his 100th cap against France tomorrow, but he does not regard himself as a contender for the captaincy either in Paris or in the longer term as he looks instead to forge a role as the voice of experience within Fabio Capello's squad.

The four previous players to reach the 100-cap milestone - Billy Wright, Sir Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore and Peter Shilton - were all named captain on the occasion, but Beckham, who has led the team on 58 occasions, firmly expects John Terry to be given the armband tomorrow.

Beckham even suggested during a press conference at the team's Hertfordshire hotel yesterday that Capello “has made it clear” that the Chelsea defender has retained the captaincy, but that claim has been rejected by Football Association officials, who maintain that no long-term decision has been made on the issue.

“The manager's made it clear that JT is the captain, I think,” Beckham said before being corrected by the FA's director of communications, Adrian Bevington, sitting beside him. “I did it for quite a few games and was proud to do that, but there's no way it's going to be me as captain. There are younger players who will take this team for many years to come.”

If the tone of that statement suggested that, at the age of 32 and playing his football for the Los Angeles Galaxy, he is in the twilight of his international career, Beckham was eager to dismiss suggestions that his 100th cap would be his last. “As much as I'm honoured to be here, I want it to carry on,” he said. “It doesn't stop here. It's not about, ‘Have your 100th game and then retire'. It's about carrying on trying to play well for my country. There are plenty of young players coming through, but I feel I can offer something.

“I have been playing for England for 11 years and I have the experience there. If I don't play some games I've got the experience to talk to the squad. As much as you want to look to the future, the past is also important.”

Beckham's past as an international player has been full of ups and downs, but his appearance at the Stade de France tomorrow, whether in the starting line-up or as a substitute, will be a proud moment, one that he feared would not come after Steve McClaren dropped him from the squad in August 2006.

“I thought my [England] career was over,” he said. “Deep down I hoped it wasn't, but deeper down, I felt I wasn't going to get the chance to play for my country again.” Tomorrow's friendly match will be the second game in charge for Capello, who, it emerged yesterday, will turn to Stuart Pearce, the head coach of the Under-21 team, to deliver some of the pre-match instructions on behalf of the Italian, who is not yet fluent in English.

“Basically the translator will latch on to me to translate everything they [Capello and his staff] are saying,” Pearce said. “He wants to make sure they hear things from a voice that he knows full well they're going to understand.”

Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney are likely to be among the players who travel to Paris today, having seemingly shaken off the respective hip and knee injuries that they sustained while playing for their clubs on Sunday, but the squad remains in the dark about Capello's team selection plans.

The France squad is depleted with Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry added to a lengthy list of absentees. Karim Benzema, the Lyons forward, is another to have pulled out with injury, with Nicolas Anelka, of Chelsea, and David Trezeguet, of Juventus, likely to play in attack.

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