Antonio is the only potential debutant in Sam Allardyce’s first squad for their World Cup qualifier against Slovakia on Sunday.
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The 30-year-old Rooney led Roy Hodgson’s England side during Euro 2016, which ended with a disappointing last-16 exit to global minnows Iceland.
There has been uncertainty over whether Rooney would retain the England armband, particularly after their disastrous Euro 2016 campaign, however Sam Allardyce said it was a “easy decision” to retain Rooney as skipper.
Rooney retained the England captaincy under new manager Sam Allardyce and will lead the team against Slovakia in their upcoming World Cup qualifier, but the Manchester United forward has confirmed the next World Cup will be his worldwide farewell, insisting his “mind is made up” that it is the right time to quit.
Allardyce was appointed after England crashed out of Euro 2016 at the round-of-16 stage, having suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of Iceland. “He is the most senior member of the squad and is hugely respected by his peers”.
But Rooney would be gratified to hear his manager’s response when asked who his best captain had been in club football.
Rooney received the symbolically prestigious honor of captaining England on a permanent basis in 2014, taking over the role from Steven Gerrard.
Antonios rise to the national team is being compared to that of Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, in that he started out in non-league football with Tooting and Mitcham, a club in south London rather than in an academy of a big club. “First and foremost, lead by example”. You would hope the captain would make a decision on the pitch if he felt he needed to. “I’ve enjoyed every minute”, the Manchester United star said. “Some players don’t want that responsibility”.
“I have had a fantastic global career, played a lot of games and I’ve enjoyed every minute but at some point it has got to come to an end. You can’t forget it, but it’s a new era for us, a new manager”.
“He will want to find out why we keep tripping up. Hopefully he can do the same with us”.
Antonio does not see himself as the emotional type but was nearly moved to tears when two members of West Ham’s backroom staff informed him he had made the cut for Allardyce’s first squad in the aftermath of his goalscoring turn in Sunday’s 3-1 loss at Manchester City.
If the England forward plays in the upcoming World Cup qualifier in Slovakia, he will be making his 116th worldwide appearance which will break David Beckham’s record for the country’s most-capped outfield player.
“We have had to make some very hard decisions, none more so than obviously I would think Ross Barkley”, Allardyce said. We have not really spoken about it, but we will in the next couple of days.
And the former Everton youngster has said he will be available to Allardyce for the foreseeable future, even if he has set his own date to step down.
The 30-year-old striker has been retained as the Three Lions skipper by new boss Sam Allardyce, but has revealed he intends to leave the global scene for good in two years’ time.
The 61-year-old might also have mentioned the lack of obvious alternatives, with Joe Hart and Chris Smalling now out-of-favour at their clubs, while the likes of Jordan Henderson, Eric Dier and Harry Kane are still making their way with England.
“In the past it’s been a case of some of the players joining up who haven’t played that much for their teams”. The first half he was OK but the team was a little bit slow in the transitions. That is also when Allardyce’s contract runs to. He did well at West Ham last season, particularly moving positions. He has scored 53 global goals.
Allardyce pointed to England’s cricket and rugby teams as examples of national sides who have successfully integrated foreign-born players into their squads. I’ve spent my whole life playing football and I think it would be a shame to walk away from it completely. “I’m just trying to get them done while I’m still playing”.
I said straight after the Euros that I wanted to still be involved.
“It’s about winning and entertaining – particularly at Wembley, entertaining the fans is very, very important”, he said.
“It’s an important one for us”. And let’s do what we need to do to get the result, something like Manchester United against Hull City.
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“Hopefully we don’t have to do too many like that but it feels nice when that happens”.
