England captain Wayne Rooney was on the spotlight in the country’s 2-0 win over Malta on Saturday at Wembley Stadium. Goals from Daniel Sturridge and Dele Alli were enough to secure three important points for the hosts.
But it was Wayne Rooney’s dismal performance that seemed to have irked a section of the fans. The 30-year-old played as an attacking midfielder but seemed quite blunt in supplying the ball to the forwards. Although England caretaker manager admitted that his side’s passing was quite slow at times, without necessarily blaming it on the out-of-favor Man Utd captain, he also revealed that the booing of Rooney was not necessary.
The highlight of his dull performance for the Three Lions was this embarraing nutmeg
What a Maltloaf! Wayne Rooney gets nutmegged against Malta#MUFChttps://t.co/JsigeUct40
— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) October 8, 2016
Speaking moments after the match the former England U21 boss told reporters:
"I don't understand it (the boos), but that seems to be the landscape. I've got no idea how that's supposed to help him, for sure.
"His experience and leadership has been crucial throughout this week. It's fascinating to get an insight into his world over the last 10 days. Every debate seems to focus on him.
"The onus on him is enormous and the criticism of him is at times unfair. He ploughs on and captains his country with pride.”
The Englishmen face Slovakia on Wednesday in their next match. It will be interesting to see if Southgate will give the embattled captain a chance again, especially after falling out of favor at the club level in the most recent matches.
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