Southgate eases Rooney out of England

LONDON – Wayne Rooney is no longer guaranteed a place in every England squad, manager Gareth Southgate declared on Thursday, as he painted a stark picture of the teams true global standing. Rooney, 31, was left out of the 26-man squad announced by Southgate for next weeks friendly against Germany in Dortmund and World Cup qualifier against Lithuania at Wembley. Routinely selected by England for the past 14 years, Rooney has lost his place at Manchester United and Southgate hinted it is time to start planning for life without him. You cant always have that parachute or life-jacket of having these senior players around, Southgate told reporters at Englands St Georges Park headquarters in Burton-on-Trent, central England. Part of the development over the next few years is exposing these younger players to the pressure games to see how they deal with it. Citing the competition Rooney faces, Southgate added: We have to look at Wayne as a number 10, which is his predominant role. In the last two games weve played Dele (Alli) there, weve played Adam Lallana there. Both are playing very well, scoring and assisting for their clubs. Ross Barkley has been playing very well for his club. So theres competition. I cant dress that up any other way. There are some very good players and its a battle to get in this squad. Wayne totally understands that. Although Rooney has been carrying a knee injury, Southgate indicated his lack of playing time with United meant he would not have been called up even if he had been fit. Rooney, Englands record goal-scorer and most-capped outfield player, has been invited to attend a planning meeting with the rest of the squad when they convene at St Georges Park on Monday. Agencies

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Southgate eases Rooney out of England