Reports: Rooney on the bench for Slovenia game
Date published: Monday 10th October 2016 12:47
Well, well. Reports suggest that Gareth Southgate has decided that Wayne Rooney will not start against Slovenia on Tuesday.
Several outlets – including Sky Sports News – have claimed that Southgate has responded to Rooney’s poor midfield performance against Malta by dropping him to the bench for their next World Cup qualifier.
BREAKING NEWS: Sky sources: England captain Wayne Rooney to be named as substitute for tomorrow's World Cup qualifier v Slovenia. #SSNHQ
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) October 10, 2016
They claim that Southgate – although positive about Rooney’s performance despite booing from some sections of the Wembley crowd – was waiting to see Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier come through a Monday morning training session before making his decision.
Rooney has already been dropped by Jose Mourinho for Manchester United, with Juan Mata preferred at No. 10.
“I think at this moment in time that’s irrelevant,” said Southgate when asked about Rooney being dropped by United. “We’ve got 30% of the Premier League eligible for England.
“Of that, some don’t want to play [for England]. Some aren’t good enough to play and we’ve got a captain who is desperate to lead on and off the field and continues to make an outstanding contribution to that group of players. That was why he was selected.
“What’s happening at Manchester United, for this week, is not as important.”
It seems that what happened on and off the pitch at Wembley might be important.
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