Interim coach Gareth Southgate has confirmed thatManchester United forward Wayne Rooney will start for England in Friday's World Cup qualifier against Scotland at Wembley. The 31-year-oldwill also don the captain's armband.
Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson, who sat beside Southgate at Thursday morning's press conference, is the only otherplayer the stand-in boss has revealed will definitely start the game after offering 'no more clues'.
Rooney has come under increasing levels of scrutiny this season after a noticeable dip in his performances for both club and country over the last 12 months.
He was dropped to the bench at United in Septemberand was also left out of the starting line-up by Southgate when England drew 0-0 with Slovenia last month.
The former teen prodigy had led the teamas skipper for the earlier qualifier against Malta, although there were boos from various sections of the Wembley crowd at the end of the game.
But this is Wayne Rooney, a man who has been under an intense mediaspotlight his entire career.He vowed to keep fighting and regain his place for both club and country, and it's starting to pay off once more.
More recently, Rooney has started each of United's last two games, edging ever closer to the club's all-time goal record with a thunderous strike against Fenerbahce in the Europa League.
After this announcement, he'll start to feel confident once more, and that can only benefit both England and Manchester United.
Southgate, who was given temporary charge of the national team when Sam Allardyce stepped down over an off-field scandal, has insisted that England will play much better than they didagainst Malta and Slovenia, where the performances were lethargic and lacklustre.
"We'll be better than our last two matches, I'm confident of that having had longer to work together," he stated.
"We've got a full squad to pick from as I sit here now. We've got strength in depth and some good players, which is a good position for me to be in."
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