England captain Wayne Rooney scored his 49th England goal against San Marino on Saturday evening to equal the record set by Sir Bobby Charlton in the 1960s.

The record from Charlton has lasted for 45 years but Rooney's penalty against San Marino, who are one of the world's worst football teams, means he has equaled it.

Rooney scores 49th England goal, equals record

Rooney, also Manchester United captain since 2014, will look to take the mantle of England's all-time top scorer outright when Roy Hodgson's side host Switzerland at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday evening. 

The 29-year-old made his England debut in February 2003 before scoring his first goal for the Three Lions, on September 6th 2003 against Macedonia in a 2-1 victory. Since then, he has missed 39 games, and made a further one hundred appearances in an England shirt.

His 49th goal came in his 106th game for England, meaning he has made the same amount of appearances and scored the same amount of goals as Sir Bobby Charlton, who was also a Manchester United player.

Charlton was hoping Rooney would break his longstanding record

Prior to the San Marino game, Charlton hoped Rooney would break it to ensure it stayed in the Manchester United family. Rooney told press before the match that he thinks "if someone has to break Sir Bobby's England record, he'd want it to be someone who has played for United for a long time."

England have now qualified for the 2016 European Championships in France, with Harry Kane and Ross Barkley scoring once, Theo Walcott twice and San Marino's Brolli once for England in an own goal, after Rooney's penalty opened the gates. It is the fastest they have ever qualified for the tournament, with three games to spare, and Hodgson and Rooney will now be looking to maintain their 100% record throughout the remaining games.

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About the author
Harry Robinson
Deputy Editor-in-Chief at VAVEL UK, and Manchester United Editor.