Wayne Rooney To Captain England Against San Marino

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Wayne Rooney will captain England against San Marino in Friday night's World Cup qualifier at Wembley.

The 26-year-old has inherited the armband due to regular captain Steven Gerrard's suspension following his sending-off in the last qualifier against Ukraine and because of a knee injury suffered by official vice-captain Frank Lampard.

After that it was seen as a straight fight between Rooney and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart for the honour, and the Football Association has now confirmed Rooney is the man.

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Rooney and Hodgson face the press on Thursday

He has captained England just once before, in a friendly defeat against Brazil in Doha in 2009.

Rooney said at a press conference ahead of the game: "It's a great honour, it's something I'm really proud of.

"It's a big challenge for myself, I'm really looking forward to it and excited, and hopefully we can cap the day off with a good victory."