Wayne Rooney named England captain
Wayne Rooney has been appointed England captain and will officially take up the role for the first time in next month’s friendly against Norway at Wembley.
Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson confirmed that he has handed the armband to Rooney, 28, following the retirement of Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard from international football after this summer’s World Cup finals.
Goalkeeper Joe Hart and centre-back Gary Cahill were believed to be the other contenders to lead England for the upcoming Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, but Hodgson has opted to turn to Rooney.
Rooney has captained England on two previous occasions during a senior international career that started in 2003 and he adds the honour of leading his country to his recent appointment as Manchester United skipper.
The former Everton forward has scored 40 times in 95 games for the Three Lions, leaving him nine goals and 30 caps shy of England’s respective national team records, held by Bobby Charlton and Peter Shilton.
Hodgson also confirmed his new-look England squad for the match against Norway, which features Arsenal youngster Calum Chambers, Tottenham full-back Danny Rose and Aston Villa midfielder Fabian Delph.
The match on September 3 is in danger of being played in front of the smallest crowd the new Wembley has seen for a full international, with just 17,000 tickets having been sold according to recent reports.
Credit: soccernet
