Rooney bids adieu as England humble US
There was no farewell goal but plenty of pride and appreciation as Wayne Rooney made his 120th and final appearance for England in a 3-0 win over the United States in a friendly at Wembley on Thursday.
England’s all-time top scorer Rooney came on as a 58th-minute substitute, to roars from the crowd, with the team 2-0 up thanks to excellent first-half strikes from Jesse Lingard and Trent Alexander-Arnold with his first goal for his country.
The game, played in front of a well-below capacity crowd of 68,155, had been billed as a tribute match to Rooney and he was given a guard of honour by both sets of players and received a presentation from the Football Association before kick-off.
Rooney retired from England duty in August, 2017 but the FA decided to turn the friendly into a tribute game for the Liverpoolborn player.
The 33-year-old former Manchester United and Everton forward, who now plays in the U.S. for Major League Soccer team D.C. United, did not have a major impact on the game but forced goalkeeper Brad Guzan into a save in stoppage time.
A 54th goal for England would have been the perfect way to bow out but it was typical of Rooney’s modest approach to the match that he never tried to create chances for himself, instead showcasing, for a final time at Wembley, his passing ability.
“Tonight was great, a great way to finish my international career, I thought the lads played great. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a goal but I’ll remember it for a long time,” Rooney said.
“I’ve had my time, I can sit back and watch them now and it’s my opinion that England are in very safe hands from what I’ve seen this week”.
Callum Wilson, the Bournemouth striker making his England debut, made it 3-0 in the 77th minute to complete a fine night for England.
GERMANY WIN
A youthful Germany team beat Russia 3-0 as Joachim Loew began a rebuilding process following the summer’s World Cup debacle with a friendly win.
Manchester City winger Leroy Sane and Bayern Munich pair Niklas Suele and Serge Gnabry claimed the first-half goals in Leipzig for head coach Loew’s new-look Germany side on Thursday.
“We can be pleased with that, we were in top form in the first half,” said goal-scorer Gnabry.
“We were a bit too passive after the break, but we will take the win.
This was Germany’s biggest victory and most convincing performance of 2018, a year which saw a record six defeats.
LONDON:
SRIKANTH LOSES
Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth lost his men’s singles quarter-final match to bow out of the Hong Kong Open here on Friday.
The fourth seed Srikanth lost to eighth seed Kenta Nishimoto of Japan 21-17, 21-13 in straight games.
Srikanth never looked in contention as the Guntur player was struggling right from the start in a match which finished in 44 minutes.
Meanwhile, top-ranked Kento Momota knocked out Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie 22-24, 21-9, 21-9 to enter the semi-finals.
LEIPZIG: HONG KONG: