Football
Mark Ogden, Senior Writer, ESPN FC 7y

Gareth Southgate yet to make a decision on England captaincy

Gareth Southgate has said he is still unsure as to the best possible candidate for England captain and added he needs time to identify Wayne Rooney's successor as the team's on-pitch leader.

Rooney, 31, was overlooked for Southgate's squad for the 1-0 friendly defeat against Germany and Sunday's World Cup qualifier against Lithuania at Wembley, raising doubts over the Manchester United forward's international future.

In Rooney's absence, Gary Cahill captained England against Germany on Wednesday, but the Chelsea defender will pass on the armband this weekend due to suspension ruling him out of the Lithuania tie.

Joe Hart, Chris Smalling, Eric Dier and the injured Harry Kane have all been cited as candidates for the captaincy, but Southgate has raised the prospect of not having a permanent captain by insisting he wants a team of leaders, rather than placing the burden on one man.

"I am giving myself time to think through what is the best scenario," Southgate said. "I've said in the past we want to develop more leaders, and by doing that with Gary in Germany, with him not playing on Sunday, it's an opportunity to share that responsibility.

"People have stepped up in their performance. There were people without the armband who played with the ball as leaders, and play without the ball as leaders, and for me that's the most important part."

Goalkeeper Hart, the most-capped player currently in the England squad, has been touted as the favourite to lead the team on Sunday.

But Southgate believes simply selecting the most-capped player as captain would be a flawed philosophy.

"It is one possibility, but at the moment that would mean Joe gets it every time," Southgate said. "It's something I want to think through, but it is not as important to me as making sure there is more development and that more are given responsibility."

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