Neill to captain Australia against Paraguay

BRISBANE, Oct 6 (Reuters) Lucas Neill will captain Australia for the first time in tomorrow's friendly against Paraguay in Brisbane, Football Federation Australia (FFA) said today.

The 28-year-old Blackburn Rovers defender was selected by coach Graham Arnold to lead the team at Suncorp Stadium with World Cup skipper Mark Viduka unavailable and Craig Moore suspended by the FFA after missing a training session this week. Moore was expected to be given the armband but was handed the one-match ban on Thursday after missing a flight to Brisbane and the team's first training session on Wednesday.

Neill, one of Australia's key performers in their run to the second round of the World Cup finals in Germany this year, made his debut for the Socceroos against England in 2003.

REUTERS PM KP0932