He continued: “It’s still two years away”.
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Wayne Rooney has decided that he will retire from global soccer after the 2018 World Cup.
He has the speed, smarts and skill to score consistently for England, though he will likely play on the wing.
On the qualities he looks for in a captain, Allardyce said: “I like an on and off-the-field captain, if there is one”. But he is 30 now and captaining your club and country, satisfying the demand to play at the top level for both, gets harder.
“It’s all about the personality”. You would hope the captain would make a decision on the pitch if he felt he needed to. But I’m doing it and I’m enjoying it.
“He will want to find out why we keep tripping up”.
“We have a department to look at the whole situation at all areas for every worldwide team”. “Hopefully we can avoid it happening again”.
Under new United boss Jose Mourinho this season, he has played behind the striker – which is where Allardyce has told the media he would play for England.
Rooney will make an appearance for his team against Slovakia in a World Cup qualifier.
And Rooney found time to congratulate the newest call-up to the senior set-up, West Ham’s Michail Antonio.
“It’s the hardest squad I’ve ever picked because it’s England”, he said.
“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”, Allardyce said.
“Having global experience with the under-21s will be invaluable for us later down the line”, Allardyce said.
“In the past it’s been a case of some of the players joining up who haven’t played that much for their teams”.
Slovakia held England to a goalless draw in its last meeting at Euro 2016, a game Allardyce expects will have little bearing on Sunday’s meeting in Trnava.
“The facility itself is fantastic, but there are some times when you can feel like you are stuck here a bit”, Allardyce said. “If Jack Wilshere was playing every week for Arsenal he would be in the squad”.
Former Tooting and Mitcham man Antonio enjoyed spells at Reading, Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest before joining West Ham last summer.
7 – Only seven of his goals have come at the final stages of worldwide tournaments, four of them as an 18-year-old at Euro 2004. “If he gets the best out of our players, then he’ll do well”.
‘I’ve still got three years left.
The 20-year-old is one of the country’s brightest emerging talents and started three games out of four in the Euros, playing alongside Rooney in a midfield three.
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He said: “He’s a very good player”. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has displaced 18-year-old Rashford up front at United. It all feels so good when you win it like that. Hopefully he can do the same with us.
