Sunday 22 March 2015 07:19, UK
England boss Roy Hodgson reckons Wayne Rooney has had to work harder than Sir Bobby Charlton to close in on 50 international goals.
After scoring twice on his 101st appearance for England last November, Rooney stands just three short of Charlton's 49-goal England record.
And the current captain could surpass the former Manchester United great over the next fortnight when England play Lithuania in a European Qualifier and a friendly in Italy.
Although Charlton took 87 matches to reach Rooney's current tally of 46, Hodgson believes the calibre of opposition England face is tougher in the modern game with high scoring victories becoming rarer.
"It would be very easy for me to talk about players from the 1950s; how great they are and how much better they are," Hodgson said.
"But the reason I never do it and hopefully I never will is because I realise how the game has moved forward. Fifty goals today is in my opinion harder than 50 goals in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
"In the past for a fixture like England-Estonia or England-Lithuania or England-Latvia you would be talking 5-10 goals probably.
"The way these teams play now it's hard to get one. They are so well organised and cramped up.
"Wayne has got those goals in a highly competitive situation and he needs to be very proud of that."
The statistics seem to back up Hodgson's point as Charlton recorded four hat-tricks in his England career - all of them in emphatic wins.
The first came an 8-1 victory over the United States in 1959, one year later he scored another treble in a 9-0 triumph over Luxembourg and he hit another three in the 8-0 win over Mexico in 1961.
Charlton’s final hat-trick came three years before England lifted the World Cup in an 8-1 win at St Jakob-Park in Basle, Switzerland.
But the England manager was keen to stress Charlton's achievements should be under-estimated, especially as he has been a winner on the international stage.
"Having said that, Bobby Charlton is and always will be regarded as the best or one of the best we have produced because he didn't just score goals, he did many other things as well," Hodgson said.
"He was an outstanding Manchester United player and Wayne will get extra pleasure knowing that he has got closer to the legend which is Bobby Charlton.
"And of course what Bobby Charlton has got that no English player of the current generation has got is a World Cup winner's medal."
Another player who is likely to reach a landmark for the England team in the next fortnight is Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart.
If Hart plays the Euro 2016 qualifier at Wembley on Friday and in Turin four days later, he will become the sixth keeper to earn 50 England caps.
And Hodgson sees no reason why the 27-year-old cannot surpass Peter Shilton's record of 125 caps.
"I think it probably is realistic, but I doubt Joe is thinking too much about that," Hodgson said.
"The first thing is that he should be happy with this 50. Getting 50 caps is not something to sniff at.
"If he can push on from there and get 100 and join that group that I've been working with, even better still. But it will take time as there are only 10 matches a year unless you win tournaments."
