The National's sport cover for the Monday, June 15 issue, features a jovial Wayne Rooney seconds after he scored the winner for England in their 3-2 victory over Slovenia in a Euro 2016 qualifier.
It appeared destined to be a day to forget for Rooney, who hoisted two gilt-edged chances over the crossbar and took an elbow to the face from home captain Bostjan Cesar during Sunday’s Group E match in Ljubljana.
But with four minutes remaining, he tucked away his 48th international goal to maintain his side’s 100 per cent record in the group and draw level with Gary Lineker in the all-time England scoring chart, one behind Bobby Charlton’s record.
“Wayne Rooney’s performance said a lot of things about him as a man,” England manager Roy Hodgson told reporters at Stozice Stadion.
msmith@thenational.ae
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