Close menu

England squad: Rooney left out because of form of others, says Gareth Southgate

Last updated on .From the section Footballcomments534

Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney played in England's 3-0 World Cup qualifying win over Scotland at Wembley in November

Captain Wayne Rooney was left out of the England squad because of the "good form" of other players, said coach Gareth Southgate.

England's all-time leading goalscorer, who has 119 caps, has been overlooked for June's matches against Scotland and France.

Southgate said: "We've a lot of players playing exceptionally well in the area of the pitch that Wayne plays."

Rooney has only started 15 league games for Manchester United this season.

The 31-year-old - with 53 international goals - was also not included in Southgate's previous squad in March for the matches against Lithuania and Germany because he was not fully fit after a leg injury.

But even when fit, his appearances at club level have been reduced since manager Jose Mourinho took over at United last summer.

"I said last time [in March] that he was a bit short of matches - he's had some matches now but we've got players that have done really, really well for us in Adam Lallana and Dele Alli," added Southgate.

"We've got Marcus Rashford, Harry Kane coming back and Jermain Defoe who did really well for us last time, while Jamie Vardy's been in excellent form in the second half of the season.

"I can't dress it up any other way. Other players are in really good form and deserve to keep their place."

England travel to Hampden Park on 10 June for their qualifier against Scotland. Southgate's side lead Group F with 13 points after five games. Scotland are fourth with seven points.

They then travel to France for a friendly on 13 June.

Rooney's dwindling Premier League appearances
Games playedMinutesGames startedSub appearances
2016-17251,5391510
2015-16282,410271
2014-15332,876330
2013-14292,448272

Spurs full-back gets first taste

Tottenham right-back Kieran Trippier has been called up for the first time for the World Cup qualifier in Glasgow and friendly at the Stade de France.

Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland returns, having recovered from the ankle injury suffered against Germany in March 2016.

Burnley centre-back Michael Keane sits out, having missed the Clarets' last three games through injury, and Everton midfielder Ross Barkley has a small injury.

Kane boost for Southgate

The inclusion of Rashford, 19, in the senior squad means he will now not link up with the under-21s for this summer's European Championship.

Meanwhile, Tottenham striker Kane's return marks the first time Southgate has been able to select the Premier League golden boot winner, who has missed all six of the manager's matches through injury.

Defender Ben Gibson, who was relegated with his team Middlesbrough, is called up again. The 24-year-old and Trippier are the only members of the squad yet to win a cap.

'Climb-down on Rashford' - analysis

BBC Radio 5 live chief football reporter Ian Dennis:

Wayne Rooney's omission again might generate the headlines, but the inclusion of 19-year-old Marcus Rashford should focus the debate on England's future.

The Manchester United striker's involvement with the senior squad means Rashford will not be going to Poland with the Under 21s for this summer's European Championship.

I spoke with the player in March and he said he would leave it to others to decide on what was best for his development. It will be seen as a climb-down by the FA as United boss Jose Mourinho gets his way.

The decision goes against everything that the FA has said on the importance of 'tournament experience', while U21s manager Aidy Boothroyd was keen to take his strongest side to Poland.

As for Wayne Rooney... I wouldn't write off his international career just yet. He won't retire, but he must decide what's best for his club future to stand any chance of fighting his way back into the England squad.

Full 25-man England squad

Goalkeepers:

Jack Butland (Stoke), Fraser Forster (Southampton), Joe Hart (Torino, on loan from Man City), Tom Heaton (Burnley)

Defenders:

Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool), Aaron Cresswell (West Ham), Ben Gibson (Middlesbrough), Phil Jones (Man Utd), Chris Smalling (Man Utd), John Stones (Man City), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham), Kyle Walker (Tottenham)

Midfielders:

Dele Alli (Tottenham), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Man Utd), Jake Livermore (West Brom), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Man City)

Forwards:

Jermain Defoe (Sunderland), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Jamie Vardy (Leicester)

U21s prepare for Euros

Southampton pair Nathan Redmond and James Ward-Prowse have been selected for the England Under-21 squad for their training camp before the European Championship in June.

Both players earned their first caps for the senior side against Germany in March and will be making their last appearances for Aidy Boothroyd's side before becoming too old to play.

Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has also been included in the squad, as has Celtic striker Patrick Roberts.

The deadline for countries to name their final 23-man squad for the tournament in Poland is 6 June.

Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox.

Comments

Join the conversation

These comments are now closed.

534 comments

  • Comment posted by giveme a job, at 13:14 25 May 2017

    At last, a sensible decision from an England manager. Ronney's past it, he'll be lucky to get another couple of seasons in USA or China because of his reputation. Players should not be picked for international football because of their reputation, but how many England managers have made this mistake? Good on you Gareth.

  • Comment posted by Pragmatist, at 13:14 25 May 2017

    He barely gets a game for his club. Of course he doesn't deserve a place in a squad where there are multiple, younger players playing better than him.

  • Comment posted by Mrs Mac, at 13:13 25 May 2017

    Why has it taken this long?

  • Comment posted by Rockin_Rog, at 13:21 25 May 2017

    Well done to Southgate for dropping Rooney. Most of the previous few England managers have struggled to drop talismanic, very experienced players in the past, even though they have been well past their sell by date.

    And by picking players from unfashionable clubs like Burnley & WBA he again beats previous bosses who couldn't seem to see past the top 4 PL teams.

  • Comment posted by SimplyTed, at 13:20 25 May 2017

    If you deduct the goals Rooney has scored against the minnows, San Marino, Andorra etc. he would only have 11 England goals in total.

  • Comment posted by You Stupid Boy, at 13:16 25 May 2017

    It's fantastic that Gareth has the courage to make a call like. Rooney has served England well in the past, but it's time for he and team to move on.

  • Comment posted by thechap, at 13:18 25 May 2017

    6. Posted by Man United Champ22ns on 1 minute ago

    Why would Rooney waste his time playing for England when he plays with much better players at Man United, The Kings of Europe and 22 time Premier league champions! England team is full of Loserpool and Arsendull rejects and Man United are above that
    #GGMU

    Hahahaha, some utd fan you are thinking that they've won the league 22 times!!!!

  • Comment posted by Capt harris, at 13:15 25 May 2017

    At least Southgate isn't selecting on reputation alone

  • Comment posted by hakuna_matata, at 13:16 25 May 2017

    I don't understand why Rooney bring dropped is such a surprise that warrants a headline news? This article should be based on those picked on merits.

    Rooney has been a wonderful servant to his country. Unfortunately it's time to call it a day - the time came a while ago in fact.

  • Comment posted by footyfan94, at 13:18 25 May 2017

    Trippier on form is the best right back in the country. Many people believe that the reason Walker is not getting a game at Spurs at the moment is because he has had some sort of argument with the manager when the simple truth is that Trippier has been too good to drop and is a class above Walker.

  • Comment posted by Smells Like Fish Spirit, at 14:06 25 May 2017

    Woy: "Wooney will lead the midfield"

    Allardyce: "Rooney can play where he likes, I can't tell him"

    Southgate: "Wayne who?"

    Progress at last.

  • Comment posted by footyfan94, at 13:47 25 May 2017

    To put things in perspective Rooney has only twice scored 20+ goals in a league season. Kane within his first 3 seasons as a 1st choice player, at the age of 23, has already scored 20+ league goals in 3 different seasons, having scored 75 league goals in the past 3 seasons. These are levels you need to meet if you want to be classed as one of the best in the world.

  • Comment posted by Vox Populi, at 14:23 25 May 2017

    Can people stop referring to the Manchester terrorist tragedy in their jibes at the two football clubs in the city. If you cannot see how deeply inappropriate it is then you are warped in the head.

  • Comment posted by D1679310355949, at 13:40 25 May 2017

    Rooney , great player for club and country , but never world class . World class players change world class games , win cups & championships (Moore , Maradona , Pele , Beckenbauer , Ronaldo etc etc . Rooney has never delivered at that level

  • Comment posted by User0089791746, at 13:16 25 May 2017

    Just to correct the headline:

    England squad: Wayne Rooney no longer good enough for selection

  • Comment posted by Mr R, at 13:35 25 May 2017

    24. Exactly, I've been saying that for years, Rooney's goal record for England is similar to Deontay Wilder's boxing record, extremely padded out.

    Last time I looked, Rooney had scored only 6 goals against what could be considered top opposition, and all of them were in friendlies.

    I'm not denying Rooney's Utd record, but for England he has been a consistent disappointment.

  • Comment posted by Glad All Over - CPFC, at 13:25 25 May 2017

    Teams such as Germany and Spain consistently pick the strongest team they possibly can for the age group tournaments. Their experience in success at youth level seems to have translated quite well to the senior stage lately, hasn't it? Wrong decision to leave Rashford out of the U21 Squad.

  • Comment posted by User0256397258, at 13:20 25 May 2017

    Being a Scotland fan , I was hoping you would select him, so we had a chance.

  • Comment posted by BovrilGate, at 14:41 25 May 2017

    Southgate's missed a trick. Should sub Rooney in the 10th minute.

  • Comment posted by Tranmere4ever, at 13:15 25 May 2017

    What no Markthesadgeektroll yet he is such a loser he has started spouting his single brain cell views on rugby HYS winding them up with his lack of sporting knowledge.

    Rooney must face facts his England career is over a great servant and he always put the effort in when you felt others didn't.

    Never pulled it off at a major tournament but good luck to him on whatever he does.

Elsewhere on the BBC