Wayne Rooney AXED as England captain as Gareth Southgate begins reign with brutal decision on Three Lions legend
Theo Walcott was snubbed by the England boss on his birthday as the Three Lions prepare for Germany and Lithunia
GARETH SOUTHGATE axed Wayne Rooney from his England squad — and ripped the armband off him.
Brutal Southgate also ruined Theo Walcott’s 28th birthday yesterday by leaving him out of the games against Germany and Lithuania.
England’s boss said: “The captain is the person that is captain in the next game, isn’t it?
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“The key for me is how we develop more leaders.
“I don’t think that he expects, if he is not playing every week for his club, to be picked. Wayne is very mature in this sort of discussion.”
Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck were also overlooked, but Jermain Defoe was handed a recall at 34 alongside fellow strikers Marcus Rashford, 19, and Jamie Vardy, 30.
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And Southgate will lay down the law to his Three Lions stars by:
- Scrapping days off after Rooney’s 5am booze session at the team hotel last November and Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana going to a Bournemouth lap-dancing club.
- Warning his squad that English football is not as good as it thinks it is.
Despite being left out, Rooney has been invited to Monday’s team meeting at St George’s Park.
Southgate said: “We’re going to have a meeting with all of the players about what we feel the next 18 months will look like. He’ll be part of that.”
On Walcott’s axing, Southgate added: “Theo wasn’t chuffed to get the call. The timing, on his birthday, wasn’t great.”
