Story highlights Wayne Rooney axed for Slovenia game

Already dropped by club Manchester United

(CNN) He may be his country's captain, all-time leading goalscorer and most capped outfield player, but that's no longer enough to guarantee Wayne Rooney a place in the England starting XI.

The 30-year-old has been dropped by interim manager Gareth Southgate for Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against Slovenia, the first time he's been left out of the lineup since the final group game of Euro 2016.

"It's a very straight forward decision," Southgate said at Monday's press conference in Ljubljana. "We've looked at the way Slovenia played last week and we knew the profile of midfield we wanted to play.

"In no way is it a reflection of his performance on Saturday (against Malta), he played well and dictated play with discipline, but we felt it was the right decision."

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