England captain Wayne Rooney has been dropped for the side's World Cup qualifier in Slovenia on Tuesday, interim manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed.
Rooney – England's record goalscorer – has only scored once in 12 appearances for club and country this season and was booed during a midfield appearance in the Three Lions' 2-0 victory over Malta at Wembley on Saturday.
Liverpool's Jordan Henderson will be skipper in the absence of Rooney, who will make way for Eric Dier to start.
"I understand and respect the manager's decision," Rooney said at the pre-match media conference on Monday.
"You want to play but I will support the players 100 per cent and be ready to come on if needed.
"I show great pride playing for my country, whether that's from the bench or from the start.
"Of course, you want to be on the pitch but my role as captain won't change off the pitch.
"If selected I am available to play. I love playing for my country. I've made it clear what my plans were and they won't change.
"If that [my role] is from the bench that is from the bench."
Southgate explained the decision was tactical, but said dropping Rooney was not a reflection on his performances.
The interim manager said: "It was not an easy decision to make but we felt it was the right one.
"It's very straightforward – we have looked at the way Slovenia play, which we did midway last week. And we profiled the kind of midfield we wanted to play.
"It is in no reflection to Rooney's performance at the weekend, in fact we were happy with the way he played."
