Rooney left out of England squad to play Scotland and France

England has omitted Wayne Rooney for June's double-header against Scotland and France, casting doubt over his international future.

Published : May 25, 2017 19:40 IST

Wayne Rooney has been left out of England's 25-man squad to face Scotland and France next month.

The England captain was overlooked for Gareth Southgate's last squad in March and again misses out for the World Cup qualifier in Glasgow on June 10 and away friendly against France on June 13.

Rooney's last international appearance came in the home qualifier with Scotland last November and his latest omission will cast further doubt over whether he has an international future, one year away from the World Cup in Russia.

The forward struggled to establish himself in Jose Mourinho's plans for Manchester United this season, starting only 15 Premier League games and scoring five goals. He made a brief cameo as a late substitute when his club won the Europa League against Ajax on Wednesday.

Rooney has 119 caps – six short of Peter Shilton's record – and is already the country's all-time top scorer with 53 international goals.

Tottenham defender Kieran Trippier gets his first England call-up, while Middlesbrough's Ben Gibson is the other uncapped player in the squad.

Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland is back for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in the March 2016 international against Germany, while Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe is again included in a group of strikers that also includes Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Jamie Vardy.

As well as Rooney, Everton attacking midfielder Ross Barkley and Arsenal's Theo Walcott are high-profile omissions for England, which is on top of Group F with 13 points from its first five matches.

"The Scotland game is one of football's great fixtures," Southgate told the FA's website.

"We are in a place in the group where a win can really put us in a very strong position, and that is what we want to achieve.

"France is a great challenge for us. Our ambition with our friendly matches is to play the best possible teams – we have done that by playing Spain and Germany already.

"They are teams we want to test ourselves against and these are great opportunities to learn and improve.

"A game away in the Stade de France will be a brilliant occasion for the players."

England squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke City), Fraser Forster (Southampton), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Tom Heaton (Burnley).

Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool), Aaron Cresswell (West Ham), Ben Gibson (Middlesbrough), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham), Kyle Walker (Tottenham).

Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Jake Livermore (West Brom), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City).

Forwards: Jermain Defoe (Sunderland), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City).

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