Allardyce’s first game in charge of the national side ended in dramatic fashion, as Adam Lallana scored a 95th-minute victor against Slovakia in their opening 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Sunday.
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England’s Eric Dier says the team must become more ruthless if they are to taste success under Sam Allardyce.
Rooney, making a record 116th appearance for an England outfield player, adopted a deep-lying midfield role for much of the game despite Allardyce having said he would play in a number 10 position.
While making it to the finals in Russian Federation shouldn’t be a problem, given the recent failings of England bosses at major tournaments, you sense Allardyce will need more than a lucky penny to steer this group of players to glory.
While Rooney may have more experience of global football than the new England boss, it was a curious statement and one which was met with dumbfounded reactions.
“He says, “You can play me anywhere you want me to play and I will try and play there”.
Kane, when asked about the incident leading to Skrtel’s second yellow card, added: ‘I felt the stamp. “You can’t forget how hard it is to play in Slovakia, but we dominated the game”. After the match, manager Sam Allardyce batted away questions about Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney’s position in the team.
“I must admit, he did play a little deeper than I thought he’d play today, but I was pleased with his performance”.
Harry Kane is not now the domineering number nine England need and want him to be, Raheem Sterling did not bring his Manchester City form with him to Trnava and Jordan Henderson failed to take his chance in the centre.
Allardyce meant he trusted Rooney to read the game and play where the team needed him to and insisted he would be standing by his man.
Rooney, 30, surpasses his former England teammate David Beckham, who was capped 115 times by his country.
“We’ve got Theo Walcott scoring for Arsenal and Adam Lallana scoring for Liverpool”.
But Lallana turned familiar frustration into a dramatic win when his left-foot strike squirmed over the line to seal a 1-0 win in the closing moments of injury-time. The fans here were happy and the goal came in their end. But the opposition were very tough.
“I had a few chances tonight”.
“There is a long way to go until the scars have been healed but it is a start”.
Allardyce, meanwhile, revealed an unlikely source of inspiration during his post-match press conference when he showed reporters a “lucky coin” he had been given before the game.
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But Rooney said: “I played in that role and helped us win the game”.
