Wayne Rooney would swap record goal tally to lift trophy with England• Striker proud to have equalled Sir Bobby Charlton’s 49 goals
• Rooney would swap all his goals for a Euro 2016 winner’s medal
Wayne Rooney reacts after scoring England's first goal from the penalty spot in the Euro 2016 qualifier against San Marino, to equal Sir Bobby Charlton's record.
Wayne Rooney equalled Sir Bobby Charlton’s England goalscoring record but suggested he would “swap all those goals for a winner’s medal next summer”, as the national side became the first to qualify for next summer’s European Championships.
The England captain stroked home a 13th-minute penalty to register a 49th goal for his country as Roy Hodgson’s team comfortably won 6-0 on a poor playing surface in San Marino. The 29-year-old will now seek to break the 45-year record by scoring against Switzerland on Tuesday, when victory will ensure Group E is claimed.
“It’s a proud moment to equal Sir Bobby Charlton’s record, and a huge honour to be sat at the top of the goalscoring charts with him,” said Rooney, whose wife, Coleen, and young son Kai were in the crowd in Serravalle. “But it’s a team game and I’m in it to win trophies as a team. I would swap all the goals I’ve scored to be successful as a team with England by winning the European Championships or World Cup. It’s a gap on my CV, along with the FA Cup. It’s always a huge honour to represent England, and we want to be successful.
“I’m sure that one day, hopefully soon, I’ll set a new record, but tonight I’m going to enjoy being in the same company as Sir Bobby. He comes into the dressing room at Manchester United after all the games and he has a presence about him. He’s helped me since I was 18 and came to the club. All this is something I have dreamed of. Having Coleen and Kai here put a bit of pressure on me, but Kai is getting into his football and just wanted to come to an England away game. It was just a coincidence that it was a game which saw me equal the record.
“You never know who will come through after you, but I’m level with Sir Bobby and I’ve got a few more years to score a few more goals and give whoever comes through next a nice target to aim for. Maybe it will stand for another 45 years. Maybe it won’t. But I would swap all these goals for a winner’s medal next summer.”
Rooney was withdrawn after 58 minutes, with Hodgson eager to use him against the Swiss – who started the qualification campaign ranked higher than England by Fifa – at Wembley. “It was planned with one eye on Tuesday,” Hodgson said. “Some quite important players, regulars, didn’t start the game and we took off some senior people in the team, too. It would be nice if Wayne could get the 50th goal against Switzerland on Tuesday night. But one thing is for certain: he will get it.”
The England manager can now start planning for Euro 2016 and is expected to blood more young players in October’s two final qualifiers, against Estonia and Lithuania, as he prepares for the tournament in France. “I don’t think qualifying early gives you any particular advantage because we have a lot of time to plan between now and June 2016 anyway,” he added. “But the October games will now be an opportunity for experimentation. We had to win our last two qualifiers for the World Cup two years ago and so used our games in November, against very strong opposition [Chile and Germany], to experiment. That’s the main advantage I can see about qualifying early.
“I’m really pleased with all of those who played today. Not surprised, because I thought that’s how they would perform. Jonjo Shelvey showed a maturity out there. We all know what he can do with the ball, the capacity he’s got for finding passes other players can’t, but he was very measured today. There were some good long passes, some visionary passes, but he had a lot of touches. In Michael Carrick and Jonjo we have two very good passers in that midfield position and, when Jack Wilshere gets back, we will have even more competition.
“Jamie Vardy had a lot of touches, Ross Barkley worked his socks off and John Stones looked the accomplished player we know he is. Harry Kane also got his goal. He is already seeing that the plaudits come quickly and so do the slaps when you go three or four games without a goal. We hope this will set him off again. I’ll put him in the same bracket as John Stones: he’s a very accomplished player and they’ll both go on to have long careers for their country and will put Rooney, Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka and Chris Smalling under even more pressure than they do at the moment.”
