Sam Allardyce praised Wayne Rooney’s performance after he played in a
deeper role in England’s 1-0 World Cup qualifying win in Slovakia.
Rooney,
30, was expected to play as a No. 10 behind Harry Kane but spent much
of the game in midfield. Allardyce admitted his surprise that Rooney had
not played further forward, but insisted his captain was “brilliant.”
“Today
Wayne played wherever he wanted to,” Allardyce said after his first
match in charge. “He was brilliant and controlled midfield. I can’t stop
Wayne playing there.
“I think that he holds a lot more experience at international football than me as an international manager.
“Yes he played a bit deeper than he does at United, but Wayne’s comfortable, when I talk to him, about the position.
“This
is the most decorated outfield player in England. He’s won everything
at Man United, more or less, and at Champions League and domestic level.
“Using
his experience with a team, and playing as a team member, it’s not for
me to say where he’s going to play. It’s up to me to ask whether he’s
doing well in that position, and contributing.
“If so, great. We’d
like to get him into goal-scoring positions more. He’s been a goalscorer
all his life and I want him to do that again, but he reads a game as he
reads it. He read it very well, we won the game and dominated the game,
outplaying the opposition.
“I must admit, he did play a little deeper than I thought he’d play today, but I was pleased with his performance.”
Adam Lallana scored his first goal at senior
international level at the fifth added minute after England
dominated the game throughout but couldn't find the back of the net.