ENGLAND legend Wayne Rooney expects Gareth Southgate to unleash Jack Grealish against Scotland.
The Three Lions kicked off their Euro 2020 campaign with a 1-0 win over Croatia on Sunday thanks to a Raheem Sterling strike.
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Pre-match, many were expecting Aston Villa star Grealish to start but Southgate had other ideas.
The 25-year-old attacker was instead left on the bench for the full game.
England’s record goalscorer Rooney is one of those desperate to see more of Grealish at the tournament.
And he firmly believes that Southgate will start him on Friday at Wembley against the Auld Enemy.
Rooney told Sky Sports News: “I would have liked to have seen Jack Grealish.
“He’s a player who is going to grow during this competition and he will be an important player for England.
“I can see a couple of changes for the Scotland game. I think Grealish will probably come in and start.
“But I think they will be a bit more relaxed on Friday, whereas if they didn’t win then it would have been more anxious.”
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Rooney also sung the praises of Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, the man who provided the assist for Sterling, and declared him England’s star performer against Croatia.
The former Manchester United striker and current Derby County boss said: “I thought Phillips was outstanding. I think he was the best player on the pitch.
“I thought Declan Rice did well. And it’s almost jobs that you don’t see they were doing well.
“I thought Tyrone Mings did well, coming into the side, first game. Everyone really did well but I thought Phillips was the standout player.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
