Rooney ‘testimonial’ an unwarranted sideshow on England road to Europe
● Top goalscorer to be made captain but farewell appearance proves divisive
Looking through the list of Wayne Rooney’s 53 England goals is like scouring Eastern Europe on Google Maps in search of a relatively untouched stag destination. Five against San Marino. Three versus Kazakhstan. Two each against Estonia, Belarus and Slovenia.
The only nation you would truly describe as elite level he scored more than once against in that record-breaking run of 53 goals was Brazil. Twice. In two friendlies.
Only seven of the goals came in major tournaments – 13 per cent of his total. Only one at a World Cup finals, when it really matters.
The decision to hand Rooney virtually a testimonial in tonight’s friendly against the USA has been a divisive one this week. Although it sounds like one, this is not a slight on Rooney: he did not ask for this match and has made no demands whatsoever.
Nevertheless, England manager Gareth Southgate confirmed that Rooney will wear the No10 shirt and be handed the captain’s armband for a last time when he comes on. He will also receive a guard of honour. There are pros and cons, but the announcement – coming in the first squad selection
since Southgate shocked with a wildly young side who drew with Croatia and beat Spain, a match which included one of the most impressive 45 minutes of football the national team have played for decades – was completely at odds with the direction Southgate has taken this England team.
It adds a coat of exhibition to a match which should ultimately be a final preparation for a Nations League match against Croatia on Sunday. That game can mean the difference between winning an incredibly tough Nations League group, which also
includes Spain, or relegation, which, in turn, can, in Uefa’s increasingly complex qualification for Euro 2020, practically requiring a PHD in probabilities to understand, have a knock-on effect in actually reaching the European Championships.
Southgate has said that the idea – not his, obviously – was inspired by Germany’s tribute to Lukas Podolski in a friendly against England last year [2017]. Yet Podolski won a World Cup, came third in it twice, reached a European Championship final and the semi-finals twice. Rooney made a handful of quarterfinals, his sending off in one of them part of the reason England failed to progress against Portugal.
There was that time he was needlessly sent off for kicking Montenegrin Miodrag Džudović in England’s final qualifier for Euro 2012, subsequently missing the first two games of the tournament. And then there was the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016 — one of the lowest ebbs in England’s history.
Ever the politician, Southgate has toed the party line and argued the party’s points.
It is, as he has said, an opportunity to show some recognition to England’s record goalscorer, in the hope that he might, one day, become a part of the FA family.
Other former England players who could potentially make excellent coaches or future England managers – Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell spring to mind – have mentioned the lack of involvement from the FA since they retired from international football.
It is also a chance for the younger players to see Rooney in the flesh, a player who burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old with Everton and made his England debut at 17 at a time when some of them were still wearing nappies.
Jadon Sancho, set for his first England start, was the first player born this millennium to play for England. A few weeks later, Rooney will become the first to come out of the MLS retirement home to pull on the shirt.
Rooney is clearly still a draw: the announcement of his inclusion, even though he will only appear as a substitute towards the end, put on around 20,000 ticket sales for a friendly that has not inspired the masses.
But they will still be some 25,000 short of Wembley’s 90,000 capacity, suggesting that, probably due to the move across the Atlantic to DC United, the 33-year-old is no longer Hollywood Box Office.
“The decision to hand Rooney virtually a testimonial in tonight’s friendly against the USA has been a divisive one”