Wayne Rooney to captain England in his final international game

Wayne Rooney will wear his familiar No. 10 shirt Thursday night in his final match for England, when the Three Lions meet the United States in an international friendly at Wembley Stadium in London.

Rooney, who will earn his 120th cap for England, will start the match on the bench before entering, according to his manager Gareth Southgate.

“All of our group have great respect for Wayne and they feel that it is fitting that his last game should be in the No. 10,” Southgate said in a news conference Wednesday.

The D.C. United forward’s 53 goals with England is most in his country’s decorated soccer history, and no English outfield player has more international appearances than Rooney.

He left Everton Football Club to join D.C. United midway through the 2018 MLS season, appearing in 20 games and starting 18.

Despite his relatively brief time with the club, his 12 goals led United, and he spearheaded a turnaround that took the team from the bottom of the Eastern Conference to a berth in the postseason, where they fell in the opening round to the Columbus Crew in penalty kicks.