Fabio Capello is the right man to bring the best out of England's under-performing national side, according to France captain Patrick Vieira.

Vieira, the former Arsenal skipper who now plays for Serie A champions Inter Milan, had Capello as a coach at both AC Milan and Juventus.

The 31-year-old midfielder is a big fan of the Italian, who succeeded Steve McClaren as England boss in December and whose task is to lead the country to their first piece of silverware since 1966.

"I liked him when I played under him," said Vieira. "At Juve, he always supported me as a player. There is always a gap between him and the players but he gives them his 100 per cent confidence.

"He will get the best out of the (England) team. He knows what is needed to be a success. He respects everybody but he will not tolerate any players being individual - he wants them to play for the team. He is strict and will make sure you give 100% game after game. He will always be behind the players."

Vieira has ruled himself out of France's friendly against England tomorrow as a precaution after failing to recover from a thigh strain that kept him out of Saturday's Serie A match between Inter and Juventus, so coach Raymond Domenech is therefore likely to pair Chelsea anchorman Claude Makelele with Lyon's Jeremy Toulalan in the centre of midfield at the Stade de France. Mathieu Flamini, enjoying an impressive season with Arsenal, could push Toulalan for a starting spot.

Flamini, who already has one cap, said: "We have some very good players in midfield, and the coach has a choice to make. It is the same situation at Arsenal but I am playing as well as I can, and I will just continue to give my best."

Despite the potential selection difficulties in midfield, Domenech's main problem area is up front, with Thierry Henry and Karim Benzema both pulling out yesterday because of injury. Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka is likely to lead the line and could be partnered by Juventus' David Trezeguet, who has replaced Benzema in the squad.

Trezeguet, France's third top goalscorer of all time and the joint leading scorer in Serie A this season, has been left out of recent Les Bleus squads, but Anelka welcomed the prospect of partnering Trezeguet against England, saying: "He is a good striker who always scores goals. He is doing it at Juventus, where he is the top scorer in Italy, and he has done it with the French national team. I'm sure it will not be a problem for him to come back and perform."