Should Wayne Rooney remain an automatic England choice?
He has an outstanding goal scoring record for both club and country – 158 league goals, 33 goals in Europe and a total of 216 goals for Manchester United in all competitions, supported by 38 goals for England in 89 caps. Only 11 goals away from equaling Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of 49 goals for the country, Wayne Rooney is undoubtedly the nations talismanic figure. The question that many have been asking recently however, is if Rooney should be a lock for England, or if he should even make the squad at all for this summers World Cup?
It is unquestionable that Rooney has been absolutely vital in England’s run in to the World Cup this summer, scoring seven goals during qualifying. He prominently featured in friendlies for the Three-Lions as well, including a goal against Brazil in a 2-2 draw at the Maracana last June. Rooney is always fantastic in qualifying campaigns, and while that is important as he is often at the center of England’s push for tournaments, in retrospect it is far easier to score against the likes of San Marino than Germany in a major tournament. But where truly great players shine, Rooney often tends to come up short.
Rooney’s goalscoring record in qualifying and friendlies:
Euro 2004 qualifying – 2 goals; Macedonia and Liechtenstein
Euro 2008 qualifying – 2 goals; Estonia and Russia
2010 WC qualifying – 9 goals; Croatia (2), Kazakhstan (3), Belarus (2) and Andorra (2)
Euro 2010 qualifying – 3 goals; Switzerland and Bulgaria (2)
2014 WC qualifying – 7 goals; San Marino (3), Poland (2) and Montenegro (2)
Friendlies – 10 goals; Denmark (2), Iceland (2), Argentina, Holland, Slovakia (2) and Brazil (2)
Total: 33 of Rooney’s 38 goals for England have been scored outside of a major tournament
For all the plaudits on his outstanding footballing resume, Rooney for years has been questioned on his performances during major tournaments. It is all well and good if you turn up during qualifying or in meaningless friendlies, but being lackluster when it matters most is not what is expected of a player of Rooney’s influence. Four goals at Euro 2004 was what many thought to be a preview of great things to come, but Rooney has only managed a single goal since then – England’s lone goal in their 1-0 win over the Ukraine during Euro 2012. For someone who is as prolific as Rooney is at club level, surely so much more should be expected and demanded from the country? To put it into further perspective, Rooney has played in a combined five major tournaments for England and he has scored five goals, averaging only one goal per tournament – in a word, abysmal.
With the rise in form of Rickie Lambert at Southampton, combined with his effective and crucial understanding formed with Adam Lallana (whom many if not most have in England’s projected starting XI this summer), it is entirely plausible that Rooney may not be the man to lead the line in Brazil. However, the fact that Rooney is versatile in the attacking third, means that he may be called upon to slot in just behind Lambert in the attacking midfielder role, where the pressure of goal-scoring will not fall on his shoulders. Rooney has featured in this role many times before and that is one potential reason why he lacks goals for his country. Contradictory however, at United, Rooney routinely is deployed in that same role and he has the ability to find the net, so that theory may truly only be taken with a pinch of salt.
Because of his influence for both club and country and his overall goal scoring record, it is almost a guarantee that Roy Hodgson will select him for England’s final 23-man squad. But if England have ambitions on making waves this summer, Hodgson must think long and hard if Rooney is the man he should rely on – after all, one solitary goal in the last four major tournaments are not the numbers of a player who is capable of going above and beyond the call of duty.