WAYNE ROONEY has named what his starting XI would be for England against Senegal – as he warns the team about knockout football pitfalls.
The Three Lions play the African side for the first time ever later today, with the winner taking a place in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Gareth Southgate has a selection headache after multiple players put themselves in the frame with an impressive second-half showing against Wales.
And Rooney believes Southgate should keep faith with that side as he reserved special praise for Manchester pair Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden.
He said in his Sunday Times column: “I would stick with the side that beat Wales and keep Rashford and Foden in.
“Foden gives you better control and helps you play a lot more and you could see Rashford’s confidence grow after his goals against the Welsh. Confidence is the key with him.”
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On Harry Kane’s lack of goals, Rooney insisted there was nothing for fans to be worried about.
He said: “Harry Kane is made for these games. The games that are tighter, where the pressure is higher, where the football has to be more calculated – they are where Harry steps up.
“He hasn’t scored in the tournament yet but I think there will be a shift in his mindset. He’ll think, “right, it’s on me now to make sure we progress”, and I think this is when he’ll come alive.'”
Rooney, who is currently boss at MLS side DC United, has plenty of tournament experience from his England days but has warned the current crop about falling into the same traps his era did.
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The Golden Generation famously underperformed at most World Cups and Euros.
The former United striker played all the way up until the humiliating defeat to Iceland in 2016, a game he pinpointed in his column as England responding badly to setbacks..
He added: “I played in five knockout matches for England and we only won one – against Ecuador at the 2006 World Cup.
“Our exit against Iceland at Euro 2016 was the biggest example of what can go wrong. Negative thoughts going into the match were not a problem that time – I never thought we would lose.
“The issue was how we reacted to setbacks during the game. When we went 2-1 down after 18 minutes we didn’t recover and with about 30 minutes to go we panicked, changed how we played, gambled too early and lost our discipline and shape.
“Once you do that against a team that’s stubborn and hard to beat, like Iceland were, there is no way you are going to get back in it.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
