England captain Wayne Rooney has been taken aback by Marcus Rashford’s attitude and aptitude since bursting onto the scene, and believes the 18-year-old can bring the fear factor to defences at Euro 2016.
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Team manager Roy Hodgson said the match on Thursday will not anymore be a testing ground for his team as it prepares for Euro 2016.
The Euros will be Harts fourth major tournament but in contrast it will be a number of the squads first exposure to senior global competition.
“But, anyway, I am also hoping we will go beyond the first three games, and to do that I shall need more than 11 players”.
Roy Hodgson professed himself happy with England’s performance despite the uninspiring nature of his side’s 1-0 win over 10-man Portugal.
Given they scored 49 Premier League goals between them this season, it seems ridiculous not to play Kane and Vardy through the middle, but Hodgson maintains that will be impossible if last night’s system is to remain in place in France. He missed the first two warm-up matches because of the Europa League Final followed by a calf injury.
England have not done all that well in global tournaments for a number of years, but this time they could really do well, seeing as to how many players were chosen due to their form, well except maybe Wilshere and Jordan Henderson.
There was no sign England were playing with a one-man advantage as Portugal completely dominated possession at the start of the second half.
“Leading the team into a major finals is a huge honour and a big moment for myself that I don’t take lightly”, Rooney told British media.
Asked if he would experiment with different options, he said: “The first two preparation games were good in that respect – I don’t need to try anything out any more”.
“I was pleased with the composure, and the way we looked to play the ball out from the back from the start”.
“We’ve made a lot of changes to the team and we haven’t been at our best but we have won the three games, which is important – especially for a young team”.
“I am not prepared to say that the 11 that starts tomorrow will be the 11 that definitely starts against Russian Federation”.
Despite not always convincing in previous outings against Turkey and Australia, England head to France on the back of three consecutive wins and Rooney added: “We are ready”.
Hodgson said that he will not experiment in the upcoming friendly, as he already got a good glimpse of the players who could make impact in the European championship.
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But he insists that it is too early for him to settle on a team for that game in Marseille on June 11.
