Rooney happy with deeper England role in Slovakia win

Omnisports

September 4, 2016 5:40 AM

England captain Wayne Rooney insists a midfield role suits him at international level, having helped his side to a World Cup qualifying win over Slovakia.

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There had been a lot of talk in the build-up to England's opening Group F fixture about the Manchester United star being listed in Sam Allardyce's first squad as a midfielder rather than a striker and he consistently sat deeper in the 1-0 victory in Trnava.

And Rooney, who became the most-capped outfield player in England's history with his 116th appearance in the match, claims that he is happy with his position in Allardyce's side.

"That's where Sam wanted me to play, we worked on it through the week," he told ITV.

"Once the team was announced, a lot of people thought I was going to play higher, but I think it suits me for this team, for the way we play.

"I have no problem playing there and I thought I contributed to the game."

While it was a special day for Rooney as he set another national record, Adam Lallana celebrated his first senior goal for his country.

The Liverpool midfielder was a bright spark in a fairly uninspiring England display, striking the post with one effort, before stealing the points with a 95th-minute winner.

"I put pressure on myself to score goals and I knew it was only a matter of time," he told ITV. "I had a few chances tonight.

"[The one that hit the post] was a great effort, but it was just unlucky and we kept plugging away.

"Coming anywhere away from home in World Cup qualifiers is going to be tough and I thought we were very disciplined at times. As the game went on, and they were down to 10 men, we did create our chances.

"Sometimes you've just got to stick at it until the last minute and, thankfully, we got the goal."

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