Rooney delighted to be back amongst the big boys

September 16, 2009

Wayne Rooney has today expressed his excitement about being a part of a third major tournament for England.

The Three Lions failed to reach Euro 2008 after a 3-2 defeat to Croatia at Wembley. Rooney missed that match but has played a key role in ensuring England reach the 2010 World Cup , with a goal in last week’s 5-1 demolition of the same opposition.

The result maintained England’s 100% record in qualifying and has led to increased hopes of a first major tournament success in 44 years. In an interview on the Football Association website, Rooney said: “It was important that we got the win and we did it in great style,”

“We’ve deservedly qualified for the World Cup and everyone is delighted.”

“Croatia knocked us out of the European Championship and to come back here and qualifying against them, and do it in such style with a 5-1 win, is something we would have wished for after the last qualifying campaign.”

The Manchester United striker has enjoyed a fine run of form for club and country and currently tops the scoring list in European qualifying, with nine goals in eight matches; all the while increasing Manchester Uniteds football betting odds of winning the Premier league.

Fabio Capello has already claimed that his target is to reach the World Cup final and Rooney is as confident as anybody about the teams chances.

“It’s always an amazing achievement to play in a World Cup, and to qualify by playing eight games and winning eight, it’s a great start for us.”

He continued: “Now we can see what we can work on for the World Cup coming up, and for me personally to play in another World Cup for England would be a great achievement.”

Barring injuries, Rooney looks certain to be on the plane to South Africa but there is still plenty of debate over who should join him in attack. Emile Heskey and Jermaine Defoe are the most likely candidates and have a chance to secure their own places with two qualifiers remaining. England are next in action on October 10^th when they travel to Ukraine, followed by a home match with Belarus four days later.

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