The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsIt’s been the most talked-about topic going into the international break but Wayne Rooney has finally become England’s all-time top scorer.
He grabbed his 50th goal for his country as England beat Switzerland 2-0 at Wembley in their European qualifying match, breaking Bobby Charlton’s record.
It didn’t look like it was going to be Rooney’s night as the game was coming to a close but Raheem Sterling drew a foul in the box to give the 29-year-old an opportunity to make history from the spot in the latter stages of the game.
Rooney entered the two qualifiers knowing he would need just two goals to become England’s top scorer.
He would’ve viewed Saturday’s match against San Marino as the perfect chance to get on the score sheet, and he did so converting a 13th-minute penalty. He broke the record in what would be his preferred way; in front of his home crowd at Wembley.
Now the record has been broken a huge weight will be lifted from Rooney’s shoulders as he leads the England team to Euro 2016 next summer, still hopeful of success in the final few years of his international career.
England are now the only team with a 100% record heading in to the final two qualifying matches, something they will want to maintain to give them the confidence ahead of some tough friendlies against Spain, France and Germany.
From making his debut at the age of just 17 to the present day Rooney has established a remarkable international presence and has become one of England’s greatest players.
At 29-years-old he may still have a few years left before retirement, so his record will stand for a number of years as he continues to score goals for the national side.
