Roy Hodgson saluted Wayne Rooney after he marked his 100th appearance with a crucial penalty to help England record a 3-1 win over Slovenia.

Jordan Henderson looked set to inadvertently gatecrash Rooney’s special evening when he headed into his own goal in the second half.
But Rooney won and converted a penalty before Danny Welbeck added a brace to give England their fourth straight Euro 2016 qualifying win.
“It was a wonderful evening for him,” said the England manager of Rooney, who received a commemorative golden cap from Sir Bobby Charlton before kick-off.
“He’s very important to me and to English football. It was fitting tonight he was able to really get his reward on the night when it’s all about him. He picks up the cap, but also scores the important first goal and leads England to victory. We’re delighted for him.”
Less than two minutes after Slovenia took the lead, Rooney went down in the box after a tackle by Bostjan Cesar and the England captain converted from 12 yards.
“It was a fine piece of play by Jack Wilshere to set it up, but it was a very good run from him into the box and that put us right back in the game,” Hodgson said.
The goal means Rooney is now England’s joint-third highest goal scorer alongside Jimmy Greaves.
He is also now one of nine players to have represented the Three Lions 100 times.
Typically for Rooney, he was selfless after the match, instead choosing to praise the rest of his team-mates for the way they turned the game on its head after a terrible first half.
”It’s a great honour to represent England 100 times now and hopefully many more to come,” the England captain told ITV 1.
”We’ve got a good winning mentality. I think you’ve seen that once we went 1-0 down.
“We knew it was going to be tough night, even tougher after they scored but the character we’ve shown was great.
”That winning mentality is with us. We believe we’re going to win every game.”
Rooney was also full of praise for fellow striker Welbeck, who took his England tally to five goals in five
games
in clinical fashion.

Welbeck volleyed a rebound past Samir Handanovic before grabbing his second following a neat one-two with Raheem Sterling.
”He doesn’t have to prove (anything) to anyone,” said Rooney of his former Manchester United team-mate.
”He’s shown he’s a top forward and he’s getting better. The more games he plays he’s getting better.
”He’s scoring goals for England, for Arsenal and he deserves all the credit he gets because he’s a fantastic football player.”
Despite the hype and fanfare surrounding Rooney pre-match, the Manchester United forward could not inspire his team in the first half as the fans inside Wembley were subjected to possibly the worst 45 minutes of football seen at the home of football this year.
Not until Phil Jagielka’s 55th minute header did Handanovic have to make a save from an England player.
The state of the pitch did not help matters.
The central parts of the surface cut up significantly because of the damage caused by last week’s NFL game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Dallas Cowboys.
But Hodgson was loathe to criticise his players, who travel to Scotland on Tuesday for what is sure to be a testing friendly at Celtic Park.
“I thought in the first half we dominated, but it was a little bit sterile at times because we weren’t getting the penetration we were looking for and we weren’t creating the clear-cut chances,” Hodgson said.
“But it would be very churlish to sit here after a 3-1 victory to start criticising the team because in the first half they didn’t reach the heights.”
Slovenia coach Srecko Katanec felt his men missed a great opportunity to record a historic first win over the English.
He said: “It was a nice chance because the England team does have some problems and we couldn’t be clinical.”

Source Foxsports

Manchester United appeared to have been dealt another injury blow after midfielder Daley Blind suffered suspected torn knee ligaments while playing for Holland on Sunday.

Blind hobbled out of the game in Amsterdam against Latvia, which Holland would go on to win 6-0, after 20 minutes following a fall in a challenge with Eduards Visnakovs.
After the match, Dutch manager Guus Hiddink expressed concerns, suggesting Blind could be facing up to six weeks of rehabilitation.
“It doesn’t look good. It is his medial ligament. It could be a strain but also be a tear, so that is a big blow,” Hiddink said, reported on Dutch website Voetbal International.
United manager Louis van Gaal, who guided the Netherlands to the World Cup semi-finals in the summer before taking up his post at Old Trafford, has been left counting the cost of the international break.
England midfielder Michael Carrick was sent home ahead of the qualifier against Slovenia because of a groin problem, while goalkeeper David De Gea dislocated his finger while training with Spain.
Blind, signed from Ajax for £14million on transfer deadline day, had been deployed as an emergency central defender by Van Gaal following injuries to Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo and the suspension of Chris Smalling.
United, who are currently seventh in the Barclays Premier League, travel to Arsenal on Saturday for the televised 5:30pm kick-off.
Blind later said on his Instagram account: “I’m proud of my 25 games for the Dutch national team, but I’m so gutted with my injury… I’ll stay positive en will come back stronger! Nevertheless a great win, 6-0!”

According to Foxsports

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insists Lukas Podolski is “not for sale”.

However, the German forward indicated he could look for first-team football elsewhere when the transfer window opens in January.
Podolski has yet to start a game for the Gunners in the Barclays Premier League this season, instead used as an impact player from the bench – as he was when he netted a dramatic last-minute winner in the Champions League away to Anderlecht.
Wenger, though, stressed the 29-year-old had to face up to the competition for places in the Arsenal frontline and rejected reports any cut-price deal was on the table, with the likes of Napoli said to be one of several interested clubs.
Speaking during an hour-long television interview with beIN Sports, Wenger said: “It is not established at all that he will leave at Christmas.
“It is me who sets the price and (the reported deal) doesn’t correspond at all to his price. He is not for sale and there is no offer.
“Podolski plays a position where there is a big competition. He came very late from his holidays [after the World Cup in the summer], so he started after his team-mates and was not good physically.”
Costa Rica forward Joel Campbell is another who has found first-team chances difficult come by with Arsenal this season.
However, Campbell issued a video on his personal website dismissing reports he was seeking a move away, having just retuned to the Emirates Stadium following a productive loan spell at Olympiacos.
“What they have been saying is not true, I’m very calm. I have not been furious,” the 22-year-old said on www.sports.bycampbell.com.
“Obviously, yes, I would like to be playing, but that’s something that has to be earned day by day. I have to keep training and waiting for the opportunity, I know it’s a very competitive team.
“Arsenal is one of the best teams in the world where there are many important players. I have to be patient, keep training and I know my chance will arrive and I’ll have to take advantage of it when it comes.
“[I’ve learned] a lot [from Arsene Wenger]. He is a coach who has many years in football and with Arsenal. I am learning from him and from my peers every day in training. I’m doing my best to be a better player every day.”
While Arsenal have not been short of attacking options, with Chile forward Alexis Sanchez in fine form following a £30million summer move from Barcelona, the Gunners have been left brutally exposed at the back where their options have been hit by injuries to full-back Matheiu Debuchy and centre-half Laurent Koscielny.
Debuchy suffered an ankle injury against Manchester City in September but has started to step up his recovery, while Koscielny has been sidelined by a troublesome Achilles problem with no firm return target set.
“We are missing our defensive solidity at the moment, due to injuries,” said Wenger, who sanctioned the sale of captain Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona in August.
“We are paying the price for Debuchy’s (injury), because (Calum) Chambers is a central defender.
“I think we have a very good balance between Koscielny and Mertesacker, so we are losing experience at the back at the moment.”
German playmaker Mesut Ozil has also been out of action for several weeks after sustaining a knee injury in the defeat at Chelsea before the last international break, and is not expected to be available again until the start of 2015.
Wenger, though, is confident the former Real Madrid star, Arsenal’s club-record signing, can still make a big impact this season.
“He will not be back until January. He came back from the World Cup with an injury,” said Wenger.
“He had a very good first season with us. I think we will see the best of Ozil in the seasons to come.”
Arsenal host Manchester United on Saturday aiming to recover from the 2-1 defeat at Swansea before the international break which left them in sixth place, now some 12 points behind leaders Chelsea.

According to Foxsports