LONDON: Former captain Wayne Rooney was dropped from the England squad on Thursday, a day after his Manchester United side won the Europa League.

England manager Gareth Southgate wasn’t persuaded by Rooney’s increased playing time with United toward the end of the season, prompted mainly by others’ injuries and fixture congestion. More typical was the cameo appearance by the captain in the Europa final win over Ajax in Stockholm.

While Rooney is not expected to retire from internationals, it’s hard to see a way back for England’s record goal-scorer with 53 and its most capped outfield player with 119.

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke), Fraser Forster (Southampton), Joe Hart (Torino), Tom Heaton (Burnley)

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

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

Forwards: Jermain Defoe (Sunderland), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Jamie Vardy (Leicester)

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2017