But speaking during a pre-match press conference, Rooney denied suggestions that he and other members of the squad were unhappy with manager Roy Hodgson’s decision.
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“I’m 100 percent fresh”. I’ll keep my confidence up and, if I’m playing on Monday, I’ll do my best to score and my best for the team, creating chances for others.
Meaning a third consecutive season where the 22-year-old remains as the first choice striker still looms with no center-forwards being signed just yet.
“I remember against Italy thinking, ‘I know which way I’m going, ‘ and Buffon was actually pointing, telling me he knows I’m going that way”.
The Tottenham Hotspur striker started England’s first two games in the tournament, against Russian Federation and Wales, but was substituted at half-time against Wales and played only 14 minutes of the 0-0 draw with Slovakia.
“I have come into this tournament and we have players capable of doing magical things. I think it shows there’s improvement in a lot of teams but perhaps shows some of them aren’t as good as they were”. We have to focus on our jobs and play for the manager who is there now.
Should England overcome the Scandinavian minnows in Nice, they could face France in the quarter-finals – followed by Germany, Italy or defending champions Spain in last four – yet Rooney believes their more feted rivals would have preferred to avoid them too, despite a lacklustre group stage that saw them finish below Wales. A hard gauntlet that boasts nine European Championships and 10 World Cups between them.
A last-16 tie with the lowest-ranked side in the tournament awaits, but following Iceland on Tuesday morning (Singapore time) could be clash with hosts France then a semi-final against the reigning champions Spain or World Cup winners Germany. No, but we know it will be a very tough game.
That is precisely the area England are perceived to have struggled with in the past but, backed up by confident club-mates such as Dele Alli and Eric Dier, Kane is optimistic.
“There’s been a lot of talk about being on this side of the draw and who we can face”, he added.
“I have always gone into a tournament thinking if I don’t play at my best, I can not see us winning it”, he confided to reporters at England’s Chantilly media centre on Thursday.
However, looking ahead to the Iceland match on Monday night, Peter Beardsley has urged Hodgson to go with a Kevin Keegan style set-up.
The loss of Kane’s England place has come less than two months after Spurs were pipped to the Premier League title by Leicester City, but he said that he was having no trouble digesting the twin disappointments. We feel we can change our game-plan against whatever team we play.
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Now its onto Iceland and while many will expect us to beat them, I still don’t think that game will be easy with the way that they have already fought to get into this final 16. “We are very confident in our ability”.
