England drop Rooney – a victory for Kane and common sense

Wayne Rooney became England's record goal scorer in September, but his international future is in doubt after he was omitted from the team for England's prestige friendly against Spain tonight.

Instead young pretender Harry Kane will lead the line, with Everton tyro Ross Barkley in support, prompting Rooney to admit that he faces a "huge challenge" to keep his place in the team.

The 30-year-old Manchester United striker has struggled in the Premier League this season, and the England manager would have faced criticism from Manchester United if he had asked Rooney to play twice in five days. But the decision shows that Hodgson is aware of the need to look at alternatives to Rooney, who faces plenty of competition for a place in the England line up at Euro 2016 next summer.

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"With Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott out injured, but in contention for Euro 2016, Rooney knows he cannot be complacent – especially as he faces greater scrutiny than ever about his own form and fitness," reports the Daily Telegraph.

Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy has also forced his way into Roy Hodgson's plans and is likely to feature against France on Tuesday, while Raheem Sterling is also able to play up front.

The decision to drop Rooney is "a minor victory for common sense", says Matt Dickinson of The Times. "At 30, Rooney is not the future and nor is he the present in the laboured form of this campaign."

There is, he says, a danger that Rooney may not recover his "zest", which means that England must start to plan for life without him.

England have not lost a match for 17 months, since defeat to Uruguay sent them crashing out of the World Cup. They won every single one of their qualifiers for Euro 2016 after being drawn in a relatively easy group, and drew with Italy and Ireland in friendlies earlier this year. But the game against Spain represents their biggest challenge since the World Cup.