This weekend’s sport: Rooney set to become centurion
WNOL reports on this weekend’s sport and the International football is back.
Rooney to gain 100th England cap against Slovenia
The European Championship Qualifiers return this weekend and England will be hoping to keep their 100% record against Slovenia at Wembley.
The Three Lions stumbled to a 1-0 win against 10-man Estonia in their last match, so they will need to improve drastically if they are to beat second-placed Slovenia on Saturday.
England’s game also marks captain Wayne Rooney’s 100th appearance in an England shirt, Only eight people have reached that mark before, with Peter Shilton peaking at 125 caps, retiring at the age of 40 after the 1990 World Cup in Italy.
At 29, there is a great chance Rooney could become the country’s highest capped player and Gary Lineker says the striker has already become one of “English football’s finest.”
Whilst Rooney is a near-certainty to start, left-back Leighton Baines has been ruled out through injury, meaning Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs is expected to replace him on the pitch tomorrow. This follows fellow Englishmen Andros Townsend and Michael Carrick who also pulled out of the squad earlier this week because of injuries.
Scotland and Ireland battle in Group D
Tonight’s biggest games comes at Celtic Park, with Scotland facing the Republic of Ireland in their Group D European Championship qualifier.
This is the first competitive match between these two sides in 27 years. Ireland are currently second in the group, three points behind leaders Poland, whilst Scotland lie fourth with four points.
Both teams have injury concerns going into tonight’s match, with Scotland’s defensive duo of Alan Hutton and Phil Bardsley being ruled out.
Ireland have more worries, with former Wigan team-mates James McCarthy and James McArthur missing out, along with Stoke City midfielder Glenn Whelan. Robbie Keane is on the bench for tonight’s game, despite starting each of the three previous qualifiers for Ireland.
Northern Ireland looking to continue good form
Northern Ireland will also be looking to hold onto their 100% record tonight as they take on Romania in Bucharest. After victories against Hungary, the Faroe Islands and Greece, the Green and White Army will be looking to solidify their place at the top of Group F.
Credits: AtilaTheHun
WNOL 