Rooney is also England’s leading goalscorer, with 53 goals.
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England captain Wayne Rooney says the debate over his role in the team has been an “overreaction”.
But Allardyce looks keen to keep the 30-year-old on side and in the side, as he prepares to guide England to Russian Federation in two years’ time.
England record-breaker Wayne Rooney should have retired from global football after Euro 2016, says former goalkeeper Peter Shilton.
But the Spurs star shoots back: “I think shooting’s definitely got to be in the 90s”.
England manager Sam Allardyce says his players still bare scars from their European Championship defeat to Iceland after their narrow 1-0 victory over Slovakia.
“I thought he should have retired after the Euros”. Far from it. If he does and he plays well, fine’.
But Shilton, who was capped 125 times by England – more than any other player in the nation’s history – insists Rooney does not have the quality to play either as a midfielder or a striker.
“I think they were probably a bit nervous”, Allardyce told The Guardian.
Rooney made his 116th global appearance on Sunday as England marked Sam Allardyce’s first match as national team manager with a last-gasp 1-0 win away to Slovakia, secured by Adam Lallana’s injury-time goal in a 2018 World Cup qualifier away to Slovakia.
Rooney’s role in the England side has been the source of much speculation, with the team captain – a striker for most of his career – starting in a withdrawn role against Slovakia before dropping deeper following the second-half introduction of Dele Alli.
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“Me and Wayne’s relationship, as we grow, will always be to promote him as captain, but first and foremost to make sure he’s playing his best football”, he added.
