Rooney’s England farewell leads to rush for tickets

The Football Association has sold more than 20,000 tickets for England's friendly against the United States since former captain Wayne Rooney's one-off international comeback was confirmed, an FA spokesman said yesterday.

Rooney, England's record scorer with 53 goals, is expected to be brought on as a substitute to claim his 120th cap in the charity game at Wembley on Friday morning (Singapore time).

Rooney's involvement has sparked a late rush for tickets over the past week, with an attendance of about 60,000 now predicted.

The charity match will raise funds for the Wayne Rooney Foundation, which aims to improve the lives of disadvantaged children.

"Looking forward to meeting up with the @England squad later today, always a huge honour. An exciting week for @FoundationWR!," Rooney wrote on Twitter before joining Gareth Southgate's squad on Monday.

In video comments released by his Major League Soccer club DC United, Rooney said: "Playing on the squad for this game and see some old teammates, see Gareth and the coaching staff, and then obviously to play at Wembley for the last time will be a great moment.

"...It'll be great to pull on the England shirt again in front of the fans, in almost a way of me saying 'thank you' to the fans for the support you've shown me over my time playing for England." - REUTERS