Wayne Rooney axed: England captain dropped for Slovenia clash as Gareth Southgate benches Manchester United man

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Wayne Rooney has been dropped from England's starting XI for the World Cup qualifying clash with Slovenia. 

Gareth Southgate has dropped his captain from the starting line-up after giving serious consideration to what is the biggest decision of his short managerial reign.  

Rooney and the rest of the Three Lions squad trained at Tottenham's Enfield training centre ahead of Tuesday's clash in Ljubljana as they look to maintain their 100 per cent win record in Group F.

Wayne Rooney and his England team-mates trained on Monday ahead of the Slovenia clash

The England captain has been dropped from the starting XI and will not start in Ljubljana

Rooney, Jordan Pickford and Marcus Rashford walk at Luton airport on Monday afternoon

Sportsmail understands manager Gareth Southgate (left) has considered his midfield options

Southgate and Jordan Henderson smile as they prepare to board the plane to Slovenia

Rooney is put through his paces but was booed by some during England's win over Malta

Rooney goes to ground as he challenges for the ball during Monday's training session

Southgate's England squad are looking to maintain their 100 per cent win record in qualifying

Rooney and his England team-mates complete a drill at Tottenham's Enfield training centre

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino was at the training base to watch England's session

The skipper, who was booed by sections of the Wembley crowd during Saturday's 2-0 victory over Malta, was put through his paces on Monday along with his England team-mates but will have to settle for a place on the bench.

Southgate had insisted he would not be afraid to axe Rooney and, with Eric Dier, arguably England's best player during the sorry Euro 2016 campaign, pushing for a recall to the team, the England boss has made a decision on his midfield options — which sees Rooney miss out.

Southgate has been adamant he is strong enough to leave Rooney on the bench if needed, saying he made far harder decisions during his managerial career.

'The biggest decision of my career? Making some really close friends redundant — that's probably as big as you can get,' said Southgate, referring to his spell as Middlesbrough boss.

'I've got to make decisions which are right for the team. Whenever you select a team with England, you're going to leave some guys on the bench who are playing every week in the Premier League for their clubs.

'You have to be prepared to do that, that's part and parcel of the job.' 

As captain, Rooney will still take part in the pre-match press conference despite not starting the game. 

Dele Alli (centre) is likely to keep his place in the No 10 position after netting at Wembley

Jordan Henderson stretches as he looks to nick the ball away from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Meanwhile, Joe Hart is expecting a difficult night after Slovenia provided England's toughest test of Euro 2016 qualification.

The Three Lions have won their 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Slovakia and at home to Malta, making them the early Group F leaders.

Gareth Southgate's side continue their campaign as the players resume battle with their most challenging opponents of an otherwise straightforward route to the Euros.

The 3-1 comeback win at Wembley and 3-2 triumph in Ljubljana last June were the only times Hart's goal was breached during qualification, so England's No 1 is expecting a similarly difficult evening.

Joe Hart, now plying his trade in Italy with Torino, believes Slovenia will pose a serious test

Southgate chats with goalkeeper Hart during England's training session in north London

'It was probably our toughest two games of the group, especially at Wembley,' the Torino goalkeeper said.

'They took the lead and it took us a while to get back into it. It was one of those tough internationals.

'I think we then played them in mid-June and Jack (Wilshere) had an amazing game and scored two fantastic goals.

Jack Wilshere celebrates after scoring a stunning brace against Slovenia in Euro qualifying

'We ended up really needing Wazza's (Wayne Rooney) cool, calm head to stick the ball away.

'It was a really good win for us and a really good game. We expect the same sort of game on Tuesday night.

'I played against one of their players last Sunday for Fiorentina, Josip Ilicic. He is a strong player with a good left foot.

'They have got some good players and they work well as a group. They have got a fantastic keeper so they are going to be good.