Chris Coleman has described Joe Allen as a "very brave player" after naming him Wales's captain for their upcoming international friendly against the Netherlands.
The Liverpool midfielder will wear the captain's armband on Wednesday after Ashley Williams, Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale were all ruled out of the match.
The Wales manager told reporters: "It's something that I never thought twice about. In the second half of the season he was really, really outstanding.
"I think the way we play, Joe is at the heart of that. He's a very brave player, one of the bravest players I've experienced working with in terms of he always wants the ball.
"It doesn't matter whether he's having a good time or a bad time he just keeps going to get the ball and he leads within his play."
The 24-year-old played 26 matches for his club during the 2013-14 season.
