Former Nigeria captain Austin Jay Jay Okocha has said he is overwhelmed by the eulogy poured on him by England coach Sam Allardyce despite retiring from football many years ago. I have scored 53 goals in 115 England appearances and my mind is made up. Raheem Sterling has been a lively presence in the start which Manchester City have made to the season, Adam Lallana has been playing constructive football for Liverpool, and Dele Alli – whose form shaded badly just at the wrong time for England last season – will be back.
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“I’ve had a fantastic worldwide career so far and played a lot of games and enjoyed every minute but at some point it’s going to come to an end”.
‘I seem to say that after every tournament.
“I’ve had a fantastic global career so far”.
“When I first came and spoke to the gaffer I said I was very grateful for the opportunity, he said “there is no need to be grateful and that if you look at your stats and what you have done, you deserve to be here”.
“I know Russian Federation will be my last opportunity to do anything”, he said.
Allardyce has indicated Rooney will be used as a forward during his reign, rather than in midfield where he played for Roy Hodgson at Euro 2016, but the skipper said he is happy to play wherever he is needed.
The 30-year-old insisted he was relishing the opportunity to work under Allardyce, labelling the 2018 World Cup in Russian Federation as his last opportunity to deliver on the global stage.
Rooney will make his 116th England appearance in Trnava, taking him past David Beckham as the country’s most capped outfield player.
A year later he broke Bobby Charlton’s 45-year-old England scoring record by netting his 50th worldwide goal in a Euro 2016 qualifying win over Switzerland at Wembley.
“Obviously it is the manager’s decision”. “I’m ready to play whether it’s as a midfielder, as a number 10 or as a striker”.
“Do you pick the best squad to win the World Cup, and if one or two of those are like N’Zonzi, do you do it?” Rooney’s future was up in the air when Ferguson left the club in the summer of 2013, but along came Moyes again and soon the player was agreeing a bumper new contract at the club. You can’t just forget it (Euro 2016) but it’s a new era for us.
“He will want to find out why we keep tripping up”. The managers and players haven’t found out why, but Sam will try to find out why it’s happening.
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Like Wright and Vardy before him Antonio knows what it is like to plug away at the bottom of the ladder, having to fight for his place in Tooting’s first-team as a teenager and working part-time as a lifeguard before progressing through the divisions. He has the speed, smarts and skill to score consistently for England, though he will likely play on the wing.
