Football
Nick Miller, ESPN.com writer 7y

Gareth Southgate explains Wayne Rooney's return to the England XI

Interim England manager Gareth Southgate has explained why Wayne Rooney will start Friday's World Cup qualifier against Scotland as captain, after being left out of the last game against Slovenia.

"It's game time, as much as anything," Southgate said of the Manchester United man, explaining what had changed since the Slovenia game.

"He wasn't in a flow of playing. He had two 90 minutes last week, scored and had two assists. To my mind, even in his training, he looks freer in his mind, evening in training. That is an important place to be in order to perform ... I think a night like Friday will be perfect for him.

"Class is permanent, isn't it? We all have moments as players where you have runs of games. Part of being a player is grinding out the difficult moments.

"There are matches and periods where you know you are not at your best. Then there are other games where things are happening more naturally. To me he looks like he is just heading into that period. That is great for us."

When he was asked if he knew which position he thought was Rooney's best, Southgate said: "Absolutely. But I'm not going to share it! If I say where his best position is, you'll know where he's playing [on Friday]."

Southgate is set to start Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge up front against Scotland, according to British newspaper reports, and he will be given the nod over Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane.

Southgate also played down talk of taking the Three Lions job permanently, insisting his only focus currently is on the upcoming games against Scotland and Spain.

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