Wayne Rooney faces 'huge challenge' to keep England starting spot

 

Rooney, who only became his country’s record goalscorer in September, has been omitted from England’s line-up for Friday’s friendly against Spain in Alicante. Roy Hodgson is expected to station Everton midfielder Ross Barkley just behind Tottenham striker Harry Kane in attack for the warm-up encounter ahead of Euro 2016. 

Rooney’s hunt for form has stretched on for months, with him surpassing Sir Bobby Charlton as his nation’s most prolific striker a rare highlight in an otherwise turgid campaign.

He has only scored twice in the Premier League this season – and one of those ricocheted off his knee into the goal after fine build-up play from Anthony Martial. Meanwhile, Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy is the league’s top scorer with 12 goals, while Kane has five in his last three outings.

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney looks dejected - Reuters

"I want to prove myself. I feel that since Roy has been in charge, my international form has been great," Rooney said at a pre-match news conference. 

"I have scored a lot of goals and I hope that will continue."

Hodgson has the unlikely dilemma of being inundated with striking options, with Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott all nearing returns from injury lay-offs.

"It's certainly the best group of strikers since I've been involved in the squad," Rooney said.

"It's a huge challenge to keep your place in the team and that's what I want to do."

England's Harry Kane celebrates scoring their fifth goal with Jamie Vardy - Reuters

However, Hodgson is trialling a system with just one striker against Spain which – should Barkley thrive – could see six men contesting one starting spot in France next summer.

"We're going to find ourselves in a situation now where games should be more cut and thrust," Hodgson said.

"Counter-attacking football has not really been much of an option (in the qualifiers) because the opponents have stayed so deep. 

"We think the type of players we have in the team are well suited to counter-attacking football and Barkley, of course, is one of those."

England sauntered through Euro 2016 qualification with a perfect record, but they have been incapable of ousting major nations when it matters at international tournaments in recent years.

OUR VIEW

Rooney’s inclusion will divide opinion. Yes, he scores when he plays for England – but the majority of goals have come against weaker nations, so does that really merit a place? The only way to be sure is by dropping him for the upcoming friendlies – something Hodgson seems keen to do.

There might be a dearth of natural leaders in the England team, but that doesn’t mean their skipper should get in by default. He’s lost that explosiveness that once made him one of the globe’s most feared strikers, and it’s probably not coming back. 

Finally, after a long spell relying on mediocre options, England have proper alternatives to Rooney and – crucially – some of them are in form. Why not give Vardy and Kane a crack, and others if they return from injury with aplomb? Rooney no longer deserves an automatic place on the team sheet.

 

Share on Google Plus

About Unknown

This is a short description in the author block about the author. You edit it by entering text in the "Biographical Info" field in the user admin panel.