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Reuters: Wayne Rooney was overcome with emotion after becoming England’s all-time record scorer when he smashed home his 50th goal with an 84th minute penalty in a Euro 2016 qualifier against Switzerland at Wembley on Tuesday.
The England skipper, who scored from the spot after Granit Xhaka had fouled Raheem Sterling, has now passed the mark of 49 goals established by Bobby Charlton in May 1970.
The FA presented the 29-year-old with a replica shirt with “Rooney 50” on the back in the dressing room after the 2-0 win secured top spot in Group E for already-qualified England.
Charlton will be invited to present fellow Manchester United great Rooney with a golden boot to mark the record before England’s next home match against Estonia in October.
Asked to describe his feelings, Rooney, who equalled Charlton’s record also with a penalty away to San Marino on Saturday, said: “It’s a great feeling obviously.
“I’ve known I’ve been close to it for the last few England games and to finally do it is a dream come true and as you’ve probably seen I was a bit emotional out there.
“It’s a huge honour and something I’m extremely proud of and happy it’s done and hopefully I can kick on from here and concentrate now again on the team and hopefully success in the future,” he told ITV.
“I am pleased its out of the way because now I don’t have to keep on being asked questions about it.”
Big moment
Rooney blasted his penalty past Yann Sommer making sure he hit it with enough venom to give the Swiss keeper no chance.
“It was a big moment for me and I just picked my corner and put my boot through it to get as much power on it as possible and make it hard for the goalkeeper and the keeper got a touch and thankfully it had too much power so I’m grateful for that.
Asked where it ranked in a career in which he has won five Premier League titles and the Champions League, he said: “It’s right up there if not the best to be your country’s all-time leading goalscorer before the age of 30.
“It’s something I could never have dreamt of. I’m extremely proud tonight.”
Rooney praised England manager Roy Hodgson for helping him achieve his milestone after taking over the job in 2012.
“Since Roy’s come in I’ve scored a lot of goals and I’m grateful to him for letting me play with the freedom which I’ve enjoyed,” he said.
Hodgson, whose side were the first to qualify for next year’s finals in France, told a news conference: “I am pleased we won, I am pleased Wayne broke the record and I am pleased Harry Kane scored the other goal.
“I don’t think Wayne will stop here either. We play about 10 games a year now, maybe more, and I think he can play at least another 30 games for England and, at his rate of scoring, maybe get another 10 or 15 goals. I don’t think he has finished yet.”
Reuters: Harry Kane is hoping to reproduce his international form for Tottenham Hotspur when the Premier League resumes this weekend and has set his sights on overhauling Wayne Rooney’s newly established England scoring record.
The Manchester United captain broke Bobby Charlton’s record when he smashed home an 84th minute penalty to notch his 50th England goal in a Euro 2016 qualifier against Switzerland at Wembley on Tuesday.
Kane scored the third goal of his burgeoning international career to break Switzerland’s stubborn resistance in the 67th minute before Rooney sealed a 2-0 victory, England’s eighth win in as many Group E games.
The Tottenham striker was a second-half substitute and found the back of the net 10 minutes after coming on to earn his fourth England cap with a smart left-footed finish from Luke Shaw’s low cross.
The international break has been productive for Kane, who came off the bench to score against San Marino, a 6-0 victory that booked England’s ticket to next year’s finals in France, and Switzerland.
The striker, who scored 31 times last season, is yet to open his Premier League account in four games so far but is confident of kick-starting his campaign when he returns to club football against Sunderland on Sunday.
“Any striker wants to be scoring goals, so it’s great to come away and get a couple,” the 22-year-old Kane told reporters.
“I’ll go back and focus on Spurs but if I don’t score at the weekend it’s not the end of the world.
“Hopefully I can get some chances for the club now and start scoring goals and really kick on this season,” he added.
Kane is also hopeful that he can one day overtake Rooney as England’s top scorer.
“Rooney has set the mark and will probably go on to score quite a few more hopefully for us,” Kane said.
“We’ll see where he ends up and hopefully I’ll be chasing him down. I’m sure he’s very proud of what he has achieved.”