England leave Wayne Rooney out for final game against Costa Rica

Posted Tuesday, June 24, 2014 by skysports.com

Wayne Rooney: Scored England's equaliser against Uruguay but rested for dead rubber against Costa Rica

England have left Wayne Rooney out of their side as boss Roy Hodgson makes nine changes for Tuesday's final game of their World Cup campaign against Costa Rica.

Only centre-back Gary Cahill and striker Daniel Sturridge retain their places from the side which lost 2-1 to Uruguay on Thursday, with England already unable to qualify for the knockout stages.

Ben Foster will start in goal, while Phil Jones, who replaces Glen Johnson at right-back, Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw all come into a revamped back four.

Frank Lampard will skipper the side in midfield, with James Milner and Jack Wilshere also making their first starts of the World Cup.

And Ross Barkley and Adam Lallana, who have featured off the bench during the games against Italy and Uruguay, get the nod from Hodgson, who admitted he was keen to give game-time to as many of his 23-man squad as possible.

"With a very different team and a lot of players who haven't played in the tournament so far, I wanted everyone to go home from this tournament - or at least as many as possible - having taken part and played in a game, not just training," said Hodgson.

"We're very conscious of the fact that our fans are as disappointed and devastated as we are, but they are still here supporting us.

"We came into the hotel and received a lot of sympathy, kind words from them and we really want to make certain that they see something that they can take some encouragement from.

"And most importantly of all, it's a top-class international on the biggest stage of all, the World Cup, so anything else than taking the game very seriously and trying to win the game in its own right would be out of the question."

The changes mean that come kick-off time in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday only midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who aggravated his knee injury in training on Monday, and third-choice goalkeeper Fraser Forster will have failed to make an appearance in Brazil. England leave Wayne Rooney out for final game against Costa Rica

"When you fail at a World Cup and have to leave the tournament, that final game is the one can lead us to the future," added Hodgson.

"This is a chance for us to show that we can compete with this team and it is a great opportunity for a lot of the players."

Lampard said the criticism the squad had come in for, after becoming the first England side to exit the World Cup in the group stages since 1958, meant the team now had to "show their character".

"It's been a tough few days. We came here to do better than what we turned out to do.

"Now we are in a situation where we have to show we're men.

"Wayne (Rooney), Steven (Gerrard), Joe (Hart) have all said we're disappointed, but as grown men, as grown-ups, we have to move on.

"This is about showing the pride of wearing an England shirt, whether it's a friendly or a game like this.

"It would be very easy to roll over and say it hasn't been our tournament, let's go home with three defeats.

"If we can take anything from this tournament it's been the progression behind the scenes and, hopefully, a result on Tuesday."

England side to face Costa Rica: Ben Foster, Phil Jones, Gary Cahill, Chris Smalling, Luke Shaw, James Milner, Frank Lampard, Jack Wilshere, Ross Barkley, Adam Lallana, Daniel Sturridge.