Rooney's record will take some beating

London - Gary Lineker believes Wayne Rooney will be England's leading goal-scorer for "a long time".

The Manchester United striker netted a record-breaking 50th international goal against Switzerland.

Rooney's late penalty in Tuesday's 2-0 Euro 2016 qualifier at Wembley eclipsed Bobby Charlton's 45-year-old mark of 49 and left him two goals in front of Lineker, who scored 48 England goals between 1984 and 1992.

With Rooney not yet 30 and the second-highest scorer in the current England set-up, Danny Welbeck, having only scored 14 international goals, Lineker believes it will be a while before the captain's tally is bettered.

"I think it'll last a long time," Lineker, 54, told a group of journalists in London on Wednesday.

"We've got no-one anywhere near it at the moment, so it's going to last at least 10 years.

"You'd have to score five, six a year, which is not that easy, so it has to last for a good period of time. Harry Kane might come through and prove to be a very consistent goal-scorer; he might not.

"I would suggest we have a long wait. And he (Rooney) could put it, not out of sight, but into the sixties."

While Rooney's goals have secured his place in English football history, Lineker believes it would be wrong to focus only on his qualities as a marksman.

"There is so much more to his game than goals - a wonderful work ethic, his awareness of space - and he is thoroughly deserving of the record," said the former Barcelona, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur striker.

"He is a very intelligent footballer. He knows where to go, how to pull defenders out of position, and his movement is top-class. Although he may not have the blistering pace of some, he has terrific speed of thought.

"He is not your quintessential poacher, but because he contributes so much inside and outside the box, he will get you those kind of goals."