Wayne Rooney claimed becoming England’s record goalscorer is the greatest achievement of his glittering career.
The Three Lions captain fired home a penalty to bag his 50th goal for his country and edge past Sir Bobby Charlton to become the nation’s all-time leading marksman.
Rooney, who has won eight major honours with Manchester United including five Premier League titles and the Champions League, said: “This is right up there if not the best – to be your country’s all-time leading goal scorer before the age of 30 is something could never have dreamed of – I’m extremely proud tonight.
England 2-0 Switzerland
UEFA EURO 2016 Qualifier
Group E
Wembley Stadium connected by EE
Tuesday 8 September 2015
“It’s a great feeling. I know I’ve been close to it the last few England games and to finally do it is a dream come true.
“As you’ve probably seen, I was a bit emotional out there. It’s a huge honour and I’m extremely proud. I’m happy it’s done and hopefully I can kick on from here and concentrate on the team and success in the future.”
The England hero smashed home from the spot six minutes from time after Raheem Sterling had been fouled in the box to double England’s lead after Harry Kane’s opener.
And the 29-year-old admitted he was more nervous than usual when stepping up to slot home from 12 yards.
He said: “I knew myself it was a big moment for me and I just picked my corner, put my boot through it to get as much power on it as possible and make it hard for the goalkeeper. The keeper got a touch but thankfully it had too much power.”
Congratulations @WayneRooney. England's all-time record goalscorer! #Rooney50 #EngvSwi pic.twitter.com/ESG5MDPyRj
— England (@england) September 8, 2015
Rooney became the youngest player to score for England when he scored his first senior goal in a 2-1 away win over Macedonia in a Euro 2004 qualifier.
And he was quick to praise England boss Roy Hodgson for the faith he has shown in him since he became national manager three years ago.
Rooney added: “I went through a spell around 2008 where I didn’t score for a couple of years for England but since Roy’s come in I’ve scored a lot under him.
“I’m grateful to him for letting me play with freedom, which I enjoy.”
“It’s a proud moment for Wayne and his family. We enjoy the moment with him and will see what the future brings”
Roy Hodgson
Hodgson said of Rooney: “It’s an amazing achievement. I was really delighted for him but my mind turns to Sir Bobby Charlton – he was one of our greatest-ever and I’m hoping he’ll be pleased for his record to be passed.
“All records are there to be broken and I hope he’ll be pleased it was Wayne who did it as a fellow Manchester United man.
“It’s a proud moment for Wayne and his family and we participate in and enjoy the moment with him and we see what the future brings.
“But the most important thing we’ve got to do is keep improving our performances because although we won the game today we’ve played an awful lot better than that and were fortunate to come out 2-0 winners.”
