The Chelsea midfielder will become England's eighth
international centurion on Tuesday, part of a Three Lions side unchanged apart
from Danny Welbeck's replacement.
Frank Lampard will win his 100th England cap from the
start in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine, manager Roy Hodgson has
confirmed.
The Chelsea midfielder made his international debut in a
2-1 friendly victory over Belgium in October 1999 and has been to two World
Cups and two European Championships with the Three Lions, notching up 28 goals
in the process.
Hodgson is delighted to see Lampard become the third
player reach his century during his reign, following Ashley Cole and Steven
Gerrard.
"Yes, he'll play tomorrow night, so that's quite a
first as well," the England boss told reporters on Monday.
"I think I've been very lucky to have three players
play their 100th game for England during the time I've been manager. I'm very
proud of that I suppose or happy to have been a part of that.
"All things being equal, Frank will play and start
tomorrow and get his 100th cap."
Hodgson also revealed that he only expects to make one
change for the match tie in Kiev, with the suspended Danny Welbeck the only
absentee from Friday night's 4-0 thrashing of Moldova.
"Well, basically there will only be one change in
the team," he added. "That'll be the person who replaces Danny
Welbeck.
"I think that I'll leave it to you to make your
assumptions and your guesses on that but that's the only change that's
likely."
The match's importance to the Group H reckoning is not
lost on Hodgson, who wants to be decisive in their attempts to win a "cup
final".
"Ukraine are a good team and both them and us are
capable of winning the group so it's a bit of a cup final," he remarked.
"It's a critical fixture in the group and the team that wins the game will
have a great chance to qualify.
"You do not win games by being cautious; sometimes
you win it by going on the front foot."
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