England captain Wayne Rooney should retire from international football, insists Lothar Matthaus

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Sam Long29 June 2016

England captain Wayne Rooney should retire from international duty after the Three Lions' Euro 2016 exit, according to former Germany international Lothar Matthaus.

The 30-year-old, who was appointed skipper in 2014, was powerless to prevent his side suffering an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Iceland in the round of 16.

Manager Roy Hodgson has stepped aside in the wake of the chastening result and the search for his successor has already begun.

The team is now at a crossroads ahead of their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign and Matthaus is adamant Rooney should follow Hodgson's lead and walk away from the England set up.

Player Ratings: England vs Iceland

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"Iceland has to be his last game for the national team, I’m afraid," he told The Sun.

"It will be good for him - but also good for England.

"The manager Roy Hodgson has said goodbye, he had to go - and it’s the same for Rooney.

"When things are going wrong in a team, it needs a leader. England didn’t have one and without a leader in the tough times you will not win," insisted the German.

Rooney equalled David Beckham's caps record for an outfield player against Iceland and has already rejected calls for him to retire from international duty.

The Manchester United forward, who turns 31 in October, believes he will still have something to offer the new manager.

But Matthaus believes the striker must take responsibility for failing to step up to the plate when the team needed him to the most this summer.

"The Iceland game started so well when Rooney scored a penalty and they should have gone on to win.

"That’s when you need someone to take command, to shout, to tell you when and how to press, how to get back in control.

"Sadly, when his team needed him, Rooney was not that leader.

"I thought Rooney could take the role but when it mattered he wasn’t able to do it," Matthaus added.

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