In case you hadn't heard, England are BACK.
Daniel Sturridge
scored the first goal of the Southgate era, heading the Three Lions in front against the might of Malta, and Dele Alli fired home a second quicker than you can say '67 days'.
Sure, there will be some nay-sayers, saying anyone can look good against Malta.
To those people we say "were you not watching Wayne Rooney's performance?"
Not content with giving the ball away twice in the opening few minutes, the England captain (!) contrived to get nutmegged by a Maltese opponent.
https://twitter.com/FoggyFerret/status/784798293104726016
Now, we wouldn't go as far as saying being nutmegged by a Maltese international is on a level with being nutmegged by a child. That would be doing a disservice to Pietro Ghedin's team.
It's more like getting nutmegged by a labrador, or a small camel.
Some have said Rooney shouldn't even have been on the pitch to
be nutmegged, having been guilty of...let's call it an agricultural tackle earlier in the game.
https://twitter.com/Macho_Grande1/status/784792315818811392
https://twitter.com/lewinick/status/784791859063382016
Thankfully, Rooney's skill and leadership haven't gone unnoticed by the match-viewing public.
https://twitter.com/JackPittBrooke/status/784797287537078277
https://twitter.com/DinhoRebranded/status/784793956299239424
https://twitter.com/thehuwdavies/status/784786904273317888
Still, it's not like Rooney's underwhelming performance has been to the detriment of any of England's other players.
https://twitter.com/Stillberto/status/784790303408553984
https://twitter.com/tomEurosport/status/784790444483964929
Sure, Rooney has scored dozens of goals for his country, but so has Gary Lineker. Lineker's probably more mobile too, and definitely less likely to get himself sent off.
Catch up with the latest episode of Football Friday Live:
