Rio eyes clean slate at Wembley

Rio Ferdinand is relishing the "special" prospect of representing England at the new Wembley after spending nearly seven years touring the country with the national side.

The likes of St James' Park, St Mary's, the Walkers Stadium, Elland Road, Pride Park, Anfield and Eastlands have accommodated England since matches at the twin towers ended in September 2000.

And the defender said: "Going back to Wembley is going to be something special and the lads can't wait for it to happen. To walk out there for the first time will be some feeling."

He added: "It is a great shame our spell at Old Trafford ended in defeat against Spain but, on the other hand, it opens a new chapter for Wembley, and the lads are so looking forward to that.

"It has been fantastic playing all around the country, with different fans being able to see England, and overall they have been really superb."

Midfielder Michael Carrick believes it is important England make the new stadium into a fortress teams will fear as quickly as possible.

He said: "We've had some good times at Old Trafford, some great days, and it would have been nice to finish off proceedings there with a win.

"But we are hoping the new Wembley is going to be even kinder to us and we will have to stamp an early mark on that and get the ball rolling. That's what we will be looking to do."