England cruised to a 2-0 victory at home to Malta in their FIFA World Cup qualifying clash at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening, with Wayne Rooney producing a moderate 90-minute performance for the Three Lions, as stand-in manager Gareth Southgate kept faith in his under-fire captain.

Though Rooney acquitted himself reasonably well in north London, history suggests this will only preserve a long-standing problem within the England setup, with the Manchester United forward serving as more of an albatross than an inspiration.

For Liverpool supporters, the critical microscope is more heavily focused on Rooney's failings, as the 30-year-old has never been one held fondly by those on the red half of Merseyside—firstly, due to his upbringing with rivals Everton, and secondly, his synonymity with United following a £27 million move in 2004.

But his decline remains a sad indictment of English football, with the burden placed on Rooney's shoulders from his days as a young talent, highlighting the nation's demand for glory, despite their last and only major international success coming five decades ago.

At just 30, Rooney looks to be on his last legs as a top-level footballer, while a player who made the opposite switch—from Manchester to Merseyside—at the other end of his career, provides a salient example of how to get it right: Liverpool's James Milner.

Both Rooney and Milner made their senior club debuts in 2002, both broke the record for the Premier League's youngest goalscorer and both were revered as bright hopes for English football.

But 14 years later, with both now 30 years old, they provide a juxtaposition of fortunes—and it is Milner, reaching a new plateau under Jurgen Klopp in 2016/17, who is proving the virtue of realism in the modern footballer.

Wayne Rooney

Rooney has certainly been under the spotlight more than Milner throughout his career, bursting into the collective consciousness by scoring a remarkable last-minute winner at home to Arsenal in the Premier League in 2002.

Latching onto a hopeful ball forward from Everton midfielder Thomas Gravesen, Rooney cut onto his right foot 25 yards from goal before curling an emphatic long-range effort past a sprawling David Seaman to make it 2-1 to the Toffees.

"Remember the name: Wayne Rooney," exclaimed commentator Clive Tyldesley, after the 16-year-old ended Arsenal's 30-game unbeaten league run, with Gunners manager Arsene Wenger reserving special praise:

Rooney is the biggest England talent I've seen since I arrived in England.

There has certainly not been a player under 20 as good as him since I became a manager here.

We were beaten by a special goal from a very special talent.

Wenger's words encapsulated the public's view of Rooney, who instantly rose to the fore, and after 67 league appearances and his England debut, the striker made the switch to Old Trafford in 2004.

Rooney has won five Premier League titles, one UEFA Champions League, one FA Cup, two League Cups, four FA Community Shields and one FIFA Club World Cup over 13 seasons with the Red Devils to date.

Among his personal accolades are the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award in 2002 and the European Golden Boy award in 2004, while he was named in the UEFA Euro 2004 Team of the Tournament and has featured in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year on three occasions.

There is no denying Rooney's quality throughout his spell in the Premier League, but having achieved so much before his 30th birthday has arguably taken its toll. In dropping his No. 10 to the substitutes' bench for United's last two league games, Jose Mourinho has seemingly acknowledged that.

James Milner

Just over two months after Rooney broke the Premier League's record as the youngest goalscorer, Milner surpassed his countryman's achievement, netting for Leeds United in their Boxing Day victory over Sunderland.

It was far from as sensational, poking home from close range six minutes after half-time, but Milner had similarly announced himself as one of the brightest talents in England, which his manager at the time, Terry Venables, attested to days later:

He is a very good player, no doubt about it.

He is a fine young fellow. The sort of guy you want to be involved in your football club and in your squad.

He is the kind of person who will make it better for longer, the sort of solid character which we already have many of here at Leeds.

Unlike Rooney, Milner's big move in 2004—leaving Leeds to join Newcastle United in a deal worth £5 million—did not see him settle in for a career-defining spell, with the midfielder going on to turn out for Aston Villa, Manchester City and now Liverpool.

But during that time, Milner has also enjoyed considerable success, with two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup and one Community Shield to his name, as well as the PFA's Young Player of the Year award, and a place in their Team of the Year in 2010.

To date, Milner has made 423 Premier League appearances, scoring 45 goals and laying on 71 assists; Rooney has made 442 league appearances, scoring 194 goals and assisting a further 105.

Milner played 61 times for England before announcing his retirement earlier this year, while Rooney is England most-capped outfield player, having made 117 appearances for his country since 2003.

But Venables' words, "better for longer," seem rather prophetic at this stage 14 years later, with Milner's time far from over despite a lengthy career in the English top flight—so just why does he look set to head the opposite way from Rooney?

Why Milner Is Getting It Right

That Milner has remained with Klopp's first-team squad at Melwood during the international break while Rooney travels from Manchester to London to Ljubljana and back is a clear factor behind his likely longevity, as he told Liverpool's official website at the beginning of October:

I had done it for a lot of years, going away with the national team and coming back—and sometimes it was quite tough when you had been travelling, had a couple of days and were back into the fixtures.

You don’t really get that break. For me personally and hopefully Liverpool, it can be a positive thing that you do feel fresher after the internationals.

Naturally, Klopp won't be allowing his remaining players a lengthy rest during the break, with Milner among those who will benefit from further work on the training field as the Reds' vice-captain continues to adapt to a new role.

Milner has taken up duties as Liverpool's new first-choice left-back for 2016/17, surpassing Alberto Moreno despite minimal experience in the role prior to the current campaign—and bar a shaky display in August's 2-0 defeat away to Burnley, he has excelled, pairing positional intelligence with diligent attacking support.

This has given the likes of Adam Lallana, Georginio Wijnaldum and Sadio Mane the license to thrive in midfield, with Milner finding himself situated in the back line rather than the middle of the park due to his desire to play week in and week out.

This is something that cannot be said of Rooney, who finds himself at odds with Mourinho's system, as Bleacher Report's United correspondent Paul Ansorge explained.

"It is entirely fair to say that Rooney's career is in substantial decline at the moment, though the data on whether it is terminal is not yet final. There are better options in the United squad in every position he could start in. Juan Mata is a better No. 10, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a better striker—and Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford probably are too," Ansorge said.

"The notion that he can play in midfield seems something of a farce based on his actual performances there. With the possible exception of one game in Louis van Gaal's first season against Newcastle United at home, it is hard to recall an occasion on which he has truly excelled in a deep-lying role. Considering the other options at Mourinho's disposal in the centre of the park, there is clearly no room for Rooney."

As Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher (h/t the Mirror's Liam Corless) proffered in January, Rooney may well be suffering from burnout due to his early start to life at the top level, with the former Reds centre-back saying "maybe it's 30 on his birth certificate but in terms of games played he's a 35-year-old player."

Therefore, by extension, Milner's decision to retire from England duty should work to prolong his career—as evidenced by what is something of a renaissance at left-back under Klopp—though, as Ansorge continued, other factors have also worked against Rooney.

"With all due respect to James Milner, he has never had to deal with anything like the career pressure Rooney has. The trophy cabinets are incomparable. Milner never carried the hopes of a footballing nation on his shoulders. No one was suggesting Milner could become one of the all-time greats of the game when he was 17," Ansorge added.

"Rooney's burnout has many causes, but one of them could well be the impact of the psychological pressure he has been under from way-too-young an age. Even if he was not consciously aware of it, it would likely have been a factor.

"So while Milner may be hitting a career purple patch at the same time Rooney is in decline, the truth is the latter may hit a similar patch if he finds himself in a less-pressurised situation. Rooney has been the main man at his club and for his country for almost his entire career, whereas Milner has been a decent squad option. When Rooney becomes that, perhaps he too can have a little renaissance. A Roon-naissance if you will."

This presents an interesting standpoint, but it remains to be seen whether Rooney will make that decision in time. As he told reporters in August, he doesn't plan to retire from England duty until 2018.

For now, his decline looks set to continue, and while Rooney has seen more silverware over his 14 years at the top than Milner, it is likely the latter will be around for longer—with hope of experiencing further glory heightening under Klopp at Liverpool.

Jack Lusby will be covering Liverpool throughout 2016/17 as one of Bleacher Report's lead correspondents. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted; statistics via Transfermarkt.co.uk.

Follow Jack on Twitter @jacklusby_ and Facebook here.