England and Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has billed Euro 2016 his biggest test to date as an global player.
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Rashford scored on his Premier League debut, his Manchester derby debut and has gone from the Under-18 side to an England player in the space of under a season.
England manager Roy Hodgson has named his provisional squad for the forthcoming Euro 2016. “I love him and I wish him good luck”, he said.
This young English team still has high expectations, however – England are 5 in the Federation Internationale de Football Association rankings. “I’m delighted that Cameron has signed his new contract and look forward to seeing him in the squad for many years to come”. In my opinion, and in Roy’s, he deserves it.
His rapid ascent was, remarkably, relatively slow in comparison to Rashford’s, and the England captain hopes the teenage star is allowed to blossom. Let him play, ” he said.
Rooney was in a similar position in Portugal at Euro 2004, when he sparkled as an unfettered 18-year-old as England made it to the quarterfinals. I’m afraid when you play two preparation games you run the risk of picking up a slight injury or knock, but it’s not a serious injury and we’re pretty confident he will be fit for when we play Russian Federation.
‘I’d like to think if Jose was watching [at Wembley] it might have given him something to smile about.
What do you think the future holds for Blackett?
On his decision to leave Leicester’s Danny Drinkwater and Newcastle’s Andros Townsend out of his squad, Hodgson added: “It was a very hard decision (to trim the squad to 23)”. But the 2014 tournament was a footballing disaster for England – an exit at the group stage after 2-1 losses to Italy and Uruguay, followed by a 0-0 draw with Costa Rica. “He has special qualities”.
“The balance is good. If anything, it’s tilted towards an offensive approach”, Hodgson said.
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Finally there’s Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge, a player who when fit – and, yes, that is not that often – is rated by Hodgson as England’s most naturally gifted goal-scorer. There is no better sight in football than seeing a young player playing football, the game they love and expressing themselves. I’m hugely honoured to do that and I have confidence in myself and the team that we can do well.
