England captaincy appeals to Rooney

Wayne Rooney has admitted he would love to have another go at being England captain after skippering the side during Saturday's friendly international with Brazil in Doha.

But in typical fashion the ever-competitive Rooney was disappointed not to mark the occasion with a victory after leading a second string line-up against the five-times world champions who triumphed 1-0.

Rooney was handed the armband after central defender John Terry failed to recover from an ankle injury suffered in training on Thursday - the first time he has been absent in 12 internationals.

The 24-year-old striker has only skippered Manchester United on two occasions, both in the Champions League.

And it was a frustrating evening for Rooney who struggled to make an impact as Brazil dominated possession for long periods.

But that has not diminished Rooney's appetite to have another crack at the role in the future - and Terry has tipped him as a potential long-term successor to himself.

Rooney said: 'I am really proud to have been captain. I was delighted to get the job. It was a great thing for me to lead the England side out although I wanted the win.

'You dream when you are a kid of doing that and don't think it will ever happen - but it has - and my family will be full of pride as well.

'Fabio (Capello) told me on Friday on the training pitch that if JT wasn't fit, I would be captain. I wanted JT to be fit but I am delighted when the manager praises me.

'He is a top-class manager who has won trophies and it is nice to hear.'

Rooney added: 'I'd love to have another go at the captaincy in the future if the chance ever came along. But I wanted the win and I think we can play a lot better.

'Obviously they scored early in the second half when we were a bit slow but we had a lot of players missing.

'The first half was quite even overall but in the second half they were the better side and deserved the victory.

'I try my hardest. That is the kind of player I am. I did not change my game too much. It wasn't going my way at times but at least I tried my hardest.'

Rooney reiterated his belief that England could overcome Brazil with a full strength side.

He said: 'When you look at it, that was probably Brazil's strongest side bar one or two players missing but we had nine or 10 regulars not available.

'Any team would find that difficult to overcome, missing so many quality players, especially playing against someone like Brazil.

'But at full strength we definitely would give them a better game and could match them.'