England's all-time goal-scorer Wayne Rooney appeared for the Three Lions for one last time in an international friendly against the Unites States, and left the field proud seeing the young Three Lions stars set up a regulation 3-0 win at Wembley on his swansong.
Rooney, 33, was introduced in the 58th minute, replacing one of the goalscorers Jesse Lingard. Appearing in his 120th international game, the former Everton and Manchester United player had little to do as the youngsters dominated the game early Friday morning.
Lingard opened the scoring in the 26th minute with a sublime curler from the edge of the box from a Dele Alli assist. One minute and England were leading by two goals as a confident Trent Alexander-Arnold produced a clinical low finish after a brilliant team play.
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Debutant Callum Wilson scored the third goal in the 77th minute with a delicate left foot touch, yet another sublime finish, from a Fabian Delph supply, to make it 3-0.
"It's my opinion that England are in very safe hands from what I've seen this week. The way they are being coached is brilliant, it's a great group of young players who have a bright future. They will go close to being the next team to bring a trophy back for England," Rooney said after the match.
England's former captain was also honoured before kick-off with a guard of honour and the presentation of a plaque bearing a golden Three Lions badge by current skipper Harry Kane.
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"It will live with me for a long time," added Rooney.
"It is something which created debate because it was the first time something like this happened, but it is the right thing to do for the players if you achieve and leave your mark on the England team."
"I asked Harry Kane to present me with the award because I believe he will beat my goalscoring record and I look forward to presenting him with the trophy," added Rooney.
Kane didn't get the chance to add to his 19 international goals as Southgate prioritised keeping most of his key players fresh for Croatia's visit on Sunday. Should England avenge their heartbreaking World Cup semi-final defeat by Croatia, Southgate's men can build on the progress made by surpassing expectations in Russia this summer by qualifying for the semi-finals of the inaugural Nations League.
"It has been a brilliant year no matter what happens on Sunday. We've had real shoots of progress and achieved some outstanding results," said Southgate.
"But everybody wants to get to a semi-final out of a very tough group so it would be a really big step forward." As Rooney and Kane watched on from the bench for the first 45 minutes, Wilson was handed his chance to impress on his international debut, while Jadon Sancho was given his first start.
England quickly put the game to bed with two goals in as many minutes midway through the first half as firstly Lingard received Dele Alli's pass before curling high into the far corner.
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Sancho has quickly made a name for himself at Borussia Dortmund and the 18-year-old built on his fine Bundesliga form by teeing up Alexander-Arnold to drill his first international goal into the far corner.
As planned, Rooney got the chance to add to his 53 international goals and was handed the captain's armband one last time when he entered on 58 minutes.
He didn't get the fairytale ending as Brad Guzan made a fine save to the crowd's dismay in stoppage time.
Rooney made his England debut in February 2007, then as a 17-year-old to become the youngest player to Three Lions. He is currently with DC United in Major League Soccer (MLS).
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(With AFP inputs)
