Fabio Capello to start with Aaron Lennon on the right

Fabio Capello is planning on playing Aaron Lennon on the right side of midfield tomorrow night when England take on Croatia in the Group 6 World Cup qualifying game at Wembley, seeking to exploit the visitors' weakness against raw pace that the Italian manager so successfully exploited against the Croats in Zagreb last year.

On that occasion, Arsenal winger Theo Walcott played and terrorised the home defence with his penetrating runs, notching up a debut international hat-trick as England got their qualifying campaign off to a blistering start with a 4-1 away win.

Walcott is currently out injured, so Capello will entrust the 22-year-old Lennon with the task of harrying a Croatian defence already shorn of Vedran Corluka, who was sent off during the Croats unimpressive 1-0 win over Belarus at the weekend.

England started their friendly against Slovenia on Saturday with Shaun Wright Phillips on the right flank, and while the pacy Manchester City midfielder didn't do anything wrong on the day, he failed to grab the opportunity to shine. Lennon's club form with unbeaten Tottenham has been excellent, and while there are doubts about his ability to track back, it appears Capello is willing to gamble on the youngster.

In other developments:

♦ Frank Lampard has vowed to avenge the painful defeats of the European Championship qualifying campaign, when a Croatia managed by Lampard's former West Ham teammate Slaven Bilic inflicted two defeats on England. "'That was a low point in all our careers and England's recent football history," Lampard told journalists yesterday. "There was a team of good individuals but low confidence. They knocked us out of the Euros and we all felt that as a nation. But you'd be a fool not to see the progress we've made since."

♦ Former England captain David Beckham insisted that if he is not picked for the England squad that will be guaranteed to go to South Africa should they win tomorrow night, he will accept the decision with good grace. "If I don't end up being in the squad that goes to South Africa, that won't mean I won't still be supporting the lads and wanting them to win," he admitted last night. "I want to be involved but, if I'm not selected, it's because the manager believes he'd have a stronger squad and stronger players without me. I would accept that." If chosen, it would be Beckham's fourth World Cup campaign, a record for an England player. ·