Wayne Rooney to captain England against San Marino

Wayne Rooney

England manager Roy Hodgson has named Wayne Rooney as captain for Friday’s 2014 World Cup qualifier against San Marino at Wembley.

The Manchester United striker, 26, will lead his national team out for the first time with permanent skipper Steven Gerrard suspended and vice-captain Frank Lampard ruled out through injury.

"It’s a great honour and something I am really proud of,” Rooney said during Thursday’s press conference. “I'm excited and I hope we can cap the day off with a victory."

Rooney will captain the team in front of 90,000 spectators, with the Football Association confirming earlier this week that the qualifier against European minnows San Marino has sold out.

"I think it's magnificent, it shows how fantastic the support is, we are very happy with it and concerned not to let them down," Hodgson, who refused to reveal which players will line-up alongside Rooney, commented.

The England boss added: "I guess Wayne Rooney knows he's starting because he's captain of the team but I've not told any of the other players yet so I cannot divulge who is playing. It might be a question of utilising the squad in a different way because we have Poland away next week."

Hodgson was also forced to reiterate the need for players to tread carefully on social media websites, following left-back Ryan Bertrand’s use of an expletive in a tweet on Thursday morning.

The 23-year-old made it clear that he had not ruled out of the San Marino game with a mere sore throat, before adding a hashtag containing a swear word. He later apologised for his language.

"It's a reminder,” Hodgson said.” His sentiments were laudable. He was a little irritated but his choice of words was wrong but it reminds us how unbelievably careful the players have to be.”

Both Lampard and Bertrand will be assessed on Sunday before a decision is made over whether they will feature in England’s next 2014 World Cup qualifier against Poland on Tuesday.

Rob Swan - follow me on Twitter

Join us on Facebook

Follow our Bettor Football updates on Twitter