Gareth Southgate has defended the decision to include Wayne Rooney in the England squad to face USA next Thursday and said the record goalscorer deserves his tribute despite criticism his presence devalues an international cap.

Rooney, who made the last of his 119 England appearances in November 2016, was named in a 28-man squad on Thursday along with the Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson, who has been handed a first call-up, and the Everton defender Michael Keane.

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Southgate confirmed Rooney would play as a substitute in the friendly at Wembley but would not captain the side or wear his usual No 10 shirt. The England manager said he had been surprised by the negative reaction to Rooney’s inclusion but cited the example of Lukas Podolski, who was honoured in a similar fashion by Germany during last year’s friendly against Southgate’s side.

“It’s a shame because we want it to be a fitting tribute to an outstanding player who has often, I think, been undervalued in terms of how well he played for England,” he said.

“That’s a disappointment. But hopefully by the time we get to the game, and him being with us next week, the focus will be on: ‘Actually, let’s think about what he did and how well he played, and there’s an opportunity here to thank him for that.’ And then afterwards we can decide whether playing him was the right thing or wasn’t the right thing.

“I understand the debate around that. I thought the Podolski situation was a super night. If I had been a player, and had given what those guys had given, I’d have walked away from there feeling my association have really recognised me in a fitting way.

“We are a strange country in that we bemoan the fact we haven’t achieved as much as we’d like and then we have a player who should be held in the highest regard and we are spending a lot of time justifying giving him that tribute.”

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Rooney will not be involved in the Nations League game against Croatia a week on Sunday and Southgate was adamant his decision to name a larger-than-usual squad ensured nobody in his plans has missed out. Mason Mount and James Maddison were not included because of injury.

“We will look at all the players we want to look at,” he said. “We have named additional names and have still got to get through the weekend in terms of numbers but there is no one else. We have to balance with the under-21s as they have got a competition next summer and the more we move them up the less enthusiastic they are about moving back down, at times, so the players we have moved up we wanted to look at.”

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Wilson, whose only previous international football came in a 20-minute cameo for Southgate with the under‑21s in 2014, has been rewarded for a brilliant start to the season that has brought six Premier League goals. Keane, who made his senior debut against Germany last year, is recalled after some impressive form, with Leicester’s Harry Maguire injured.