ENGLAND

Wayne Rooney will continue as England captain after manager Sam Allardyce made the “easy” decision to retain his services.

Rooney, 30, has led his country for the past two years, but after taking over from Roy Hodgson following Euro 2016 Allardyce initially refused to confirm he would keep the armband.

Allardyce also declined to name a skipper in his first squad announcement on Sunday night, adding a minor element of intrigue, but the Manchester United forward always looked firm favourite.

Question marks over his place in the team appear to have been answered by a strong start to the season at Old Trafford, where Jose Mourinho has used him as a number 10, shoring up his position in the international fold ahead of the World Cup qualifier in Slovakia on September 4.

“Wayne has been an excellent captain for England and the manner in which he has fulfilled the role made it an easy decision for me to ask him to continue,” said Allardyce, who informed