Football
Kevin Palmer 10y

Wayne Rooney named new England captain by Roy Hodgson

Wayne Rooney has been appointed as the new England captain and will officially take up the role for the first time in next month's friendly against Norway at Wembley.

- Chambers heads new faces for England

Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson confirmed that he has handed the armband to Rooney, 28, following the retirement of Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard from international football after this summer's World Cup finals.

"I gave it a lot of thought, but I think Wayne is an obvious choice. He certainly deserves it," Hodgson told a news conference on Thursday.

"His commitment to the cause, his experience, the fact that he has captained England in the past and now of course he has the responsibility at Man United, all those factors weighed in my thought process.

"I've had a long conversation with him and he is prepared to accept the pressures that the England captaincy brings. That's quite important these days. To be sure that the person who you are offering the captaincy to feels he wants to take on that enormous responsibility.

"All I can hope for is that he continues to play well and hope he shoulders the responsibility as well as the captains before him."

Goalkeeper Joe Hart and centre-back Gary Cahill were believed to be the other contenders to lead England for the upcoming Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, but Hodgson has opted to turn to Rooney, who told his official website he was honoured to be handed the armband.

"To be named as the England captain is a dream come true for me personally and of course for my family. It is something I will take massive pride in doing," he said.

"As a kid I always loved the occasion of watching a big England game on the television. Back then I had a burning ambition to play for my country. Now to be appointed captain is beyond my wildest dreams.

"I would like to thank Roy and the coaching staff for having the belief and confidence in me to do the job."

Rooney added: "I have played under some fantastic captains at both Manchester United and England and would hope that I have picked up some of their strongest qualities.

"I intend to speak with Steven [Gerrard] about different aspects of the role. We had a great relationship from the moment we played together for our country right up to our final game in Brazil. I am sure if I ever need to seek his advice he will be there to help."

The United striker has captained England on two previous occasions during a senior international career that started in 2003 and he adds the honour of leading his country to his recent appointment as Manchester United skipper.

The former Everton forward has scored 40 times in 95 games for the Three Lions, leaving him nine goals and 30 caps shy of England's respective national team records -- held by Bobby Charlton and Peter Shilton.  

Hodgson also confirmed his new-look England squad for the match against Norway, which features Arsenal youngster Calum Chambers, Tottenham full-back Danny Rose and Aston Villa midfielder Fabian Delph.

The match on Sept. 3 is in danger of being played in front of the smallest crowd the new Wembley has seen for a full international, with just 17,000 tickets having been sold according to recent reports.

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