United man gets armband

Manchester United star Wayne Rooney will lead his country out at Wembley against San Marino in the absence of Steven Gerrard.

The former Everton man has been given the opportunity to captain the national side on home soil for the first time, previously being handed the captaincy for one game a 1-0 defeat to Brazil in Doha in 2009. Regular captain Gerrard is missing after picking up a red card in the last qualifier against Ukraine, the game ending in a 1-1 and meaning even more pressure has been heaped on the shoulders of the squad for the next two games against San Marino and Poland. Rooney will take charge at Wembley against a team ranked 206th in world football but he believes that the side need to make sure they aren't complacent. He said: "It's a great honour and something I am really proud of. "It's a big challenge for myself and I'm looking forward to it, I'm excited and I am hoping we can cap the day off with a good victory." "We have to make sure we play the football we have been trying to do. We have been working hard all week. The Manager has told us what he expects of us and we have to try and do that as best we can."