Stand-in skipper Frank Lampard admitted the England team may have been forced to discuss the possibility of taking a stand over the poppy row had no agreement been reached with FIFA about the wearing of the remembrance emblem.

Lampard believes England would have been "letting down" the military if they did not display the poppy in the friendly international against Spain at Wembley ahead of Remembrance Sunday.

A compromise was eventually reached, with the England players now able to wear the emblem on their black armbands.

But Lampard was clearly in the mood to have considered taking the matter further if no such agreement with FIFA had been struck.

Lampard said: "It is a huge thing for us, the Football Association and everyone. You've got to give a lot of credit to the people who have pushed to make it happen.

"As players we do a lot of work with the military boys and, if we were to be running out and not showing our respects, we would be letting them down

"It is something the players felt very strongly about.

"I think we would have sat down and had a good think about it because I know how proud we are to play and what an important day Remembrance Day is. We are very pleased it has got to where it has got."

When asked if he would have considered defying the FIFA ban, Lampard said: "I wouldn't say I would have considered defying the ban but we would have sat down and said ‘this is how important this is to us'.

"I'm very proud of the freedoms we have and why we have got them. To live the life we live is due to the people who fought and died in wars. We should never forget that.

"I went to my daughters' school assembly this week and the headmaster was telling all the kids, at a very diverse school with kids from all over the world, what it means to wear a poppy.

"I came away feeling quite proud that is what we teach our kids."

Asked whether he had considered not playing, Lampard added: "That is what you are trying to get me to say! I think we would have spoken.

"It is very much a team thing. It is hypothetical now because it has been resolved. The right thing has happened."

Lampard will lead England for the second time in the absence of John Terry, who will be back in the side for Tuesday's home international with Sweden.

It is a turnaround in fortunes for Lampard, who has been left out of the starting line-up for two of England's three Euro 2012 qualifiers this season.

He said: "I'm happy to be involved. With Chelsea and England, there is a lot of competition for places.

"I have played here for a long time and was very lucky to play consistently in the starting line-up.

"It is not always going to be that way and the times I am not playing for England or Chelsea my only mindset was to try and show what I can do again and become part of the line-up again.

"Any other attitude would not help you. If you sulked, you would probably stay on the bench."

Lampard knows England face a daunting task against the World Cup holders, especially with an experienced squad, but is relishing rather than fearing the challenge.

He said: "We have to believe in ourselves, we can't go with an attitude of just respecting them and trying to keep it a decent game. We have to say ‘we are England, we are playing at home and can counteract what you have got'."