Wayne Rooney

International career

Rooney became the youngest player to play for England when he earned his first cap in a friendly against Australia on 12 February 2003 at 17,[186] the same age at which he also became the youngest player to score an England goal.[187] (Arsenal youngster Theo Walcott broke Rooney's appearance record by 36 days in May 2006.[188]) This came after Rooney ignored calls from Irish supporters to play for the Republic of Ireland, for whom he is eligible to play as his grandmother was born in Ireland.[189]

His first tournament action was at UEFA Euro 2004, in which he became the youngest scorer in competition history on 17 June 2004, when he scored twice against Switzerland;[190] however, this record was topped by Swiss midfielder Johan Vonlanthen four days later.[191] Rooney suffered an injury in the quarter-final match against Portugal, and England were eliminated on penalties.[192] After scoring four goals in four matches, Rooney was named in UEFA's Team of the Tournament.

Following a foot injury in an April 2006 Premier League match, Rooney faced a race to fitness for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.[193] England attempted to hasten his recovery with the use of an oxygen tent,[194] which allowed Rooney to enter a group match against Trinidad and Tobago[195] and start the next match against Sweden.[196] However, he never got back into game shape and went scoreless as England bowed out in the quarter-finals, again on penalty kicks.[197]

Rooney was red-carded in the 62nd minute of the quarter-final for stamping on Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho as both attempted to gain possession of the ball, an incident that occurred right in front of referee Horacio Elizondo.[198] Rooney's Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo openly protested his actions, and was in turn shoved by Rooney.[198] Elizondo sent Rooney off, after which Ronaldo was seen winking at the Portugal bench.[198] Rooney denied intentionally targeting Carvalho in a statement on 3 July, adding, "I bear no ill feeling to Cristiano but I'm disappointed that he chose to get involved. I suppose I do, though, have to remember that on that particular occasion we were not teammates."[199] Elizondo confirmed the next day that Rooney was dismissed solely for the infraction on Carvalho.[200] Rooney was fined CHF5,000 for the incident.[201]

Rooney top scored for England in their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with nine goals; one behind the UEFA section's overall top goalscorer, Theofanis Gekas of Greece.[202] On 14 November 2009, Rooney captained England for the first time in a pre-tournament friendly with Brazil.[203]

During the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa England drew with Algeria and the England players were booed off the pitch by supporters.[204] England were eliminated in the second round.[205]

The UEFA Euro 2012 qualification campaign went well for England, as they qualified at the top of their group, winning five and drawing three games. Rooney scored three goals, one against Switzerland and two against Bulgaria. In the last qualifier against Montenegro (2-2), Rooney was sent off for a tackle on Miodrag Džudović in the 74th minute.[206] It was anticipated that Rooney would miss at least one match in the opening round of the first phase at UEFA Euro 2012. After the game Rooney sent a personal letter to UEFA in which he apologised and expressed regret for the tackle on Džudović which earned him the red card.[207] Despite the letter, UEFA punished Rooney with a three-game ban, meaning that he could not play in any of the group stage matches. After UEFA's announcement, Džudović stated that he believed the sentence for Rooney was too severe and that he would defend him if needed. He later asked the UEFA to pardon Rooney. The Football Association then decided they would appeal to UEFA against the ban. On 8 December 2011, after The FA had appealed the ban, UEFA reduced the sentence to two matches.[208] This meant that Rooney missed the matches against France and Sweden. He was able to play in the final match of the group stage against Ukraine on 19 June 2012, scoring the only goal of the game, allowing England to progress to the quarterfinals.[209] England were eventually knocked out in the quarter-finals against Italy, who, after a scoreless 120 minutes, won 4-2 on penalties, although Rooney was able to net his spot-kick.

After another international tournament in which the English media criticised Rooney's performances, Fabio Capello claimed Rooney "only plays well in Manchester".[210] However, on 12 October 2012, Rooney became England's 5th highest goalscorer of all time after scoring his 30th and 31st international goals in a 2014 World Cup qualifier against San Marino. Rooney captained England for the first time in a competitive match in the same game. On 6 February 2013, Rooney scored in a 2-1 win against five-time world champions Brazil at Wembley in a friendly.[211] In March, he scored goals against San Marino and Montenegro in World Cup qualifying,[212][213] before scoring against Brazil again in a 2-2 draw on 2 June, in the official re-opening of the refurbished Maracanã Stadium.[214] On 11 October 2013, Rooney became England's all-time top goalscorer in competitive internationals when he scored his 27th competitive goal in a 4-1 World Cup qualifier against Montenegro.[215][216] Rooney ended the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign as England's top scorer with seven goals.[217]

At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Rooney started in England's first group match against Italy, setting up Sturridge's temporary equaliser, in a 2-1 loss.[218] In England's second 2014 FIFA World Cup group match against Uruguay at the Arena Corinthians, Rooney scored his first ever goal at a FIFA World Cup finals with a 75th minute equaliser in a 2-1 loss.[219] England drew their final group match 0-0 against Costa Rica, and were eliminated from the World Cup, finishing last in their group; despite playing a part in both of England's goals, Rooney was criticised by English pundits for his performance in the tournament.[220]

Following Steven Gerrard's international retirement after the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Roy Hodgson named Rooney as England's new captain.[221] On 3 September 2014, in the first match of his captaincy, Rooney scored a penalty against Norway to give England a 1-0 friendly win.[222] Later on he showed his leadership attribute by calling player-only meetings in September 2014 to reflect on the players' performance and discuss how they can do better as a team. "Obviously the manager gives us our game plan, but because we don't spend that much time together as a team we need to know and feel confident in what we're doing as a team together. In the meetings, you're having the players speak up who wouldn't normally speak up when coaches are there." Rooney said.[223] On 15 November 2014, Rooney won his 100th England cap against Slovenia in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match, scoring a penalty to equalise in a 3-1 win