Sports Briefs
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BASKING in the euphoria of his record breaking goal for England, on Tuesday, September 8, Wayne Rooney, captain of the English team, said it was a “dream come true” for him to break Bobby Charlton’s goal scoring record for the country.
Rooney, 29, achieved the feat when he converted a penalty at the 84th minutes in the 2-0 win over Switzerland in a Euro 2016 qualifying match. The goal took his tally for his country to 50 to better 49 goals for Charlton. The veterans 49 goals had endured for 25 years.
“It’s a great feeling,” Rooney said, adding: “I’ve been close for the last few games and it’s a dream come true. I’ve got a lot of football in me for England. I hope the goals don’t stop.”
The spot-kick was awarded late in the game when Raheem Sterling was fouled in the penalty area by Granit Xhaka.
Rooney, who scored his first England goal against Macedonia in 2003, told BBC Radio 5 live: “It’s a very special night for me and my family. A night I will never forget. I was very nervous stepping up to take the penalty. I knew it was such a big moment for me and my career. The players said to me afterwards it was like being at a concert because there were so many flashes from phones in the crowd.
“It’s a huge honour because Sir Bobby Charlton is an England and Manchester United legend. I know Sir Bobby will be extremely proud that a Manchester United captain has broken the record.”
The striker was handed a commemorative England shirt by boss Roy Hodgson, coach of the English team, in the dressing room after the match, and made a speech in front of his colleagues.
“Nights like this you don’t forget,” he added. “When you create a bit of history it’s a great feeling. It was really nice of the players and the manager to present me with a shirt afterwards.”
Hodgson praised Rooney’s achievement, and said the Manchester United striker could possibly reach a tally of 65 goals.
“You would like to think we are on about 10 games a year and maybe if we ever did very well in a tournament a bit more – that is at least to 2018,” he said.
“So you are talking 20, maybe even 30 games, so it could be like 10 to 15 goals.”
— Sep 21, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT
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