WAYNE’S BIG NIGHT
Guard of honour before the game Captain’s armband once he’s on WILL wear No10
WAYNE RooNEY
will wear the England No 10 shirt when he makes his international farewell against the US at Wembley tonight.
The country’s all-time leading goalscorer will bow out of international football in style — and as
Sportsmail revealed last Tuesday, he will do it in the shirt with which he is synonymous.
Gareth Southgate — who is set to hand Callum Wilson, Lewis Dunk and Jadon Sancho their full debuts tonight — confirmed: ‘The players are very keen that Wayne wears the No 10.
‘We believe that is a fitting tribute. We have spoken a lot as a group about doing things our own way over the last two years. We did that right through the summer (at the World Cup).
‘Harry Kane came to see me and said, “Look, we don’t think it would be right for him to come on wearing a shirt he hasn’t worn”. Part of the game is to pay tribute to what he’s done. Players always look at how they would like to be treated in that situation.
‘I know last week we said it would be unlikely ( he’d wear No 10) because he’d be on the bench.
‘But sometimes when you have discussions and are able to think through about what we stand for as a group, in those moments it’s good for the players to have an opinion.
‘We have a lot of respect for our former players. The legacy part of what we do is huge.
‘All of our group have huge respect for Wayne and they feel it is fitting his last game should be in his No 10.
‘When he puts that shirt on his wall somewhere at the end of his career, it is going to be from a special night and the 10 is the number he has.’
Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph will captain England for the first time tonight — but Rooney will take the armband when he comes on.
Sportsmail revealed on Tuesday that England’s senior players backed plans to pass the captaincy to Rooney.
And Delph confirmed: ‘ When I came into the England set-up, Wayne was captain and he welcomed me, put his arm around me and made me feel at home.
‘As soon as he comes on tomorrow I will be giving him that armband back. It is going to be a huge night for Wayne and we want to make it special for him.
‘We spoke in camp and we think it is important to honour the achievements he has made throughout his career. We are really looking forward to doing that for him.’
To top off a special night for Rooney, the 33-year-old, accompanied by his four children, will walk on to the pitch through a guard of honour ahead of kick- off before taking his seat on the bench.
FA chairman Greg Clarke will make a special presentation to the former Everton and Manchester United striker before the game starts.
And Southgate, who is also set to hand keeper Alex McCarthy his England debut as substitute, insists Rooney deserves tonight’s honour despite the criticism levelled at the idea of handing England’s most-capped outfield player a 120th and final international appearance.
The manager, who played alongside Rooney for England, believes the DC United striker is one of the top three players he has shared a pitch with at international level. level ‘There were some brilliant players I played with across the 10 years and it doesn’t seem right to leave the ( David) Beckhams and (Teddy) Sheringhams out of a list,’ added Southgate.
‘ But Paul Gascoigne, Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney (were the stand-outs). I played with him at the start of his career.
‘But for him to go on and overtake Sir Bobby Charlton’s record and Gary Lineker’s record is incredible.’
Southgate will rest his top stars for Sunday’s UEFA Nations League clash against Croatia. Kane, Raheem Sterling, John Stones and Jordan Henderson all start on the bench tonight.
The manager is ready to go with an inexperienced starting XI that will probably see Brighton central defender Dunk make his debut alongside Everton’s Michael Keane in the heart of England’s defence.
Luke Shaw is set to start at left back, but Southgate was last night waiting for the all-clear from medics after the Manchester United defender sustained a minor injury.
Delph will anchor a midfield that is set to feature Tottenham’s Harry Winks.
Bournemouth striker Wilson is expected to be flanked in attack by Borussia Dortmund forward Sancho and Jesse Lingard.
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is expected to start, with McCarthy due to replace him at half-time.