Rooney key for England in World Cup
England’s icon, who has never scored in a World Cup finals tournament, needs to have a great run in Brazil to fill in the gaps in his career, says Alan Shearer
“HE TICKS all the boxes as a player, but for him to be put in the same bracket as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, he needs to have a great tournament in Brazil.”
Alan Shearer has told the Mirror that Wayne Rooney needs to take the World Cup by storm to warrant a place at English football’s top table.
From the curse of the metatarsal to red-card shame and sneering wretchedly into TV cameras after a bankrupt stalemate, Rooney was a barometer for England’s “golden generation”.
As Manchester United are about to close the shutters and hide under the stairs at the end of a ghastly season, Shearer has challenged Rooney to break the mould of England turning up for major tournaments bearing the scars of a gruelling season or “p****d in a pub”.
For a player of Rooney’s quality never to have scored at a World Cup finals is an indictment of England’s repeated failure to shine when it matters most.
And Shearer, the doyen of English strikers with 260 Premier League goals, said: “It’s a gap in the story of his career which he would like to fill, but he probably hasn’t yet gone to a World Cup in the best of fitness and you can’t argue with his record at international level overall.
“Rooney has scored 38 goals for England. He’s only 11 short of Bobby Charlton’s record and I think he will go on to break it.
“But he needs to go out and have a big tournament. If he does that, he will be the key to us having a successful World Cup. When Rooney plays well, England play well.
“I’m a Rooney fan. He ticks all the boxes as a player but for him to be put in the same bracket as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, he needs to have a great tournament in Brazil — although, having said that, Messi has yet to set the place on fire at a World Cup as well.”
Nothing makes an Englishman’s heart sink more than the sight of Rooney funnelling back to collect the ball off the back four — the sign of a team going nowhere. Doing so in the heat of Manaus against Italy on June 14 would be a big mistake.
“We’re not going to see the best of him doing that as he will be wasting too much energy in areas of the pitch where he can’t influence the game in an attacking sense,” said Shearer, who will be a headline act in the BBC’s platoon of World Cup pundits.
“It will help him if he doesn’t feel obliged to do too much work in his own half of the pitch. I also feel it will help him if he hits the ground running because in my experience it does wonders for your confidence if you get off the mark early.
“I scored in England’s opening games of Euro 96 and at the World Cup in 1998 and for a goalscorer, the guy everyone is looking to perform well, it doesn’t half take the pressure off you personally and your team.
“It gives you huge belief, but he’s got one hell of a tough game to do it, not only against Italy, but in oppressive conditions.”
Rooney scored a belter in the Maracana last summer when England drew 2-2 with Brazil, a fixture they could potentially repeat in the quarterfinals, but Shearer dares not look so far ahead.
He believes it is vital not to lose against Italy and suffer a repeat of the build-up in South Africa four years ago.
Shearer said: “With England, there’s always some problem before a big tournament, someone’s broken a metatarsal, been p****d in a pub — that happened to us before Euro 96 — and I would love the build-up to be smooth, although you sus- pect with England it won’t be.”
England suffered World Cup penalties heartbreak in 1990, 1998 and 2006, and another three in the 1996, 2004 and 2012 Euros. Should it go to another shootout, Rickie Lambert’s 100% record from the spot for Southampton offers hope the script may be different this time.
“One of the reasons I would take Lambert is for that eventuality,” said Shearer. “But I would take him on merit for his overall contribution. To have him, knowing if it goes to a shootout he’s a virtual banker, is a great feeling for a coach.
“In open play, if we’re struggling to score, he’s a great option to have.”