England captain Wayne Rooney has confirmed that the 2018 World Cup in Russia will be his last act in international football.
Rooney, 30, kept hold of the England captaincy as new manager Sam Allardyce named his first squad since replacing Roy Hodgson as boss ahead of the opening 2018 World Cup qualifier in Slovakia on Sept. 4.
And
the Manchester United forward, who played as a deeper-lying midfielder
at Euro 2016, told a news conference that he would retire from
international football at the age of 34.
"Realistically I know
myself that Russia will be my last opportunity to do anything with
England. Hopefully I can end my time with England on a high," he said.
"I
said before the Euros I enjoyed playing in this team, and that's the
case still. There were some questions about whether I should stop
playing, but I am looking forward to getting back on the pitch.
"I
made my mind up before the Euros, whether we did well or not, that I
was going to continue. I've had nothing to think about since then. My
mind is made up... Russia will be my last tournament.''
Having
been deployed as a midfielder at Euro 2016, where England were sent home
by minnows Iceland, eyebrows were again raised when Allardyce's squad
to face Slovakia included Rooney's name among the midfielders.
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