England v Scotland: Manchester United star Wayne Rooney will be Three Lions captain confirms Gareth Southgate

Wayne Rooney will lead England against Scotland on 12 November.

Wayne Rooney
Rooney will lead England against Scotland Reuters

Manchester United star Wayne Rooney will lead England against their upcoming World Cup qualifier fixture against Scotland, the Three Lions' interim manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed.

The 31-year-old has been in and out of Jose Mourinho's starting lineup in recent times as a dip in form at the start of the 2016/17 campaign saw him start few fixtures for the bench for the Red Devils.

However, Rooney returned to the starting lineup in the last two United fixtures, against Feyenoord in the Europa League (which they lost 2-1) and the league tie against Swansea City (the Red Devils won 3-1).

The former Everton man was leading England at the European championship and Southgate, who is currently the interim manager of the English national side has decided to continue with Rooney as his captain to face the Scots.

Southgate believes United captain's vast experience could prove vital for the Three Lions in their upcoming fixture.

"Wayne will be captain. He is in a better place than he was for the last get together, in terms of his sharpness and his confidence. There was no hesitation from my point of view to be playing him," Southgate explained, as quoted by the FA's official website.

"He's played well in his last couple of games for Manchester United. He's someone who when he is in a rhythm of playing that helps.

"His experience of playing in games like this is important. In a team with lots of energy and potential, we need experienced players around that too."

England will host Scotland for the World Cup qualifiers at Wembley on 12 November, Friday. Southgate will be looking for a win over their neighbours at the English capital.

READ MORE