Barry, who was formerly captain of Aston Villa before his move to Eastlands, will wear the armband after the Italian coach allowed John Terry to return to Chelsea ahead of the their Champions League clash against Manchester United next week.
The 30-year old is the most experienced player in the squad with 45 caps, as other high-profile names such as Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard were also given a leave of absence by the Three Lions boss while Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard were ruled out of the squad for the qualifying game against Wales with injury.
The clash will be Barry’s first opportunity to lead the national team out from the start, though he has worn the armband twice before following the substitutions of Gerrard and Lampard during friendlies against Egypt and Denmark respectively.
Barry didn’t start in England’s 2-0 victory over Wales at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, with Jack Wilshere, Scott Parker and Lampard preferred in midfield to the former Aston Villa man.
Speaking to reporters at Wembley, Capello explained his decision behind naming the Manchester City midfielder as skipper for Tuesday’s clash.
“He’s Barry played all the games with me,” said Capello. “He’s a really good player, good captain and also he’s the player with most England caps left in the squad.”
Six players in total have been allowed to leave the camp ahead of Champions League quarter-finals, and Capello has confirmed that Gary Cahill, Andy Carroll and Phil Jagielka will all start against Ghana, with the Bolton and Everton men expected to start as a pairing in the center of defense.
“It will be interesting for the fans to see some players they don’t know very well,” Capello added, “and it will be interesting for me.
“It’s really important for the players to understand the spirit of the team. We can see the spirit on the pitch like the first 20 minutes against Wales.”
He added: “The players that is not here went home is because I prefer to reserve the players for the clubs and for us, because in this period if you are tired its easy to pick up injuries. For this reason I decided to rest these players.”
The England chief also confirmed that Joe Hart will retain his starting place at Wembley, while West Ham midfielder Scott Parker could also feature again – should he be fit – an admission which will no doubt leave Hammers’ fans concerned ahead of their match against Manchester United on Saturday.
“I don’t know if Parker will start,” Capello conceded. “If Parker will be fit, he will play, but he’s got a little problem, but i hope tomorrow he will be fit i will decide tomorrow. Hart will start.”
After another week on controversy in the build-up to the Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales, Capello was once again quizzed on his handling of reinstating Terry as the permanent England captain; after Gerrard admitted that he’d spoken with the Italian, while the Three Lions’ boss admitted that he is still yet to speak with Ferdinand.
As to why he chose to telephone Gerrard and not Ferdinand, Capello said: “Because Rio is the captain, Steve was the vice-captain, for this reason I prefer to speak personally.”
And the England boss finished by offering his support to assistant coach, and under-21 manager, Stuart Pearce, should he choose to select Wilshere and Carroll for the European championships in the summer, amidst concerns from Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger that his prized starlet could burn himself out.
“I support him 100 per cent, absolutely,” Capello insisted, “because I think these two players will be really important for England under-21 team. Will clubs be happy? I don’t know.”
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Gareth Barry Named As England Captain For Ghana Friendly As Fabio Capello Rings Changes