Wayne Rooney Discusses His England Regret, Russia World Cup 2018 Hopes and More

As Wayne Rooney stands on the cusp of becoming England’s all-time record goalscorer, it may be a surprise that the Manchester United man’s international career is tinged with some regrets. Speaking ahead of the Three Lions’ clash with Switzerland on Tuesday, the captain revealed he still has hopes of glory at the World Cup in Russia 2018 too.

Rooney helped England cement their place at next summer’s European Championships in France on Saturday, scoring the opening goal in a 6-0 win over San Marino. It’ll be a chance for the skipper to make amends after his preparation for the previous Euros, by his own admission, wasn’t ideal.

After suffering a toe injury ahead of the Ukraine finals in 2012, the United man, who was suspended for the first couple of games, went on holiday to Las Vegas with his family.

“Looking back, I regret that,” said Rooney when asked about the trip, per Dominic Fifield of the Guardian. “I’ll certainly get my part right this time and, as a team, we are all building to being successful. It’s something I’ve learned. At the time I thought it was no problem but now I know I obviously shouldn’t have done it. It’s flights and jet-lag. I was there with my family but flying so far, it takes a while to get over the jet-lag.”

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It’ll be the first time Rooney has captained England going into a major tournament and there will be an onus on the forward to set the tone for the rest of the squad. After all, having burst onto the international scene as an 18-year-old in 2004, there are few players who will have quite as comprehensive an understanding of how the game works at that level.

As we can see here courtesy of Bleacher Report UK, Rooney, now the joint-highest all-time goalscorer in England’s history, has come a long way:

The striker still thinks there could be more to come as well. While the France finals will be a fine chance for Rooney and England to go far in a major tournament, the England captain is already eyeing up a trip to Russia for the 2018 World Cup. And he thinks his international career would be underwhelming without a silver lining, per Fifield’s piece:

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Winning something with your country is the ultimate goal and, if I don’t, I’ll be disappointed. Hopefully the young players in the future can but it’s the ultimate goal for me and that’s what I want to do – be successful with England. I hope France is not my last tournament. 

I still feel fine and I think I can go on to Russia [for the 2018 World Cup] and then see how I feel. But that’s not something I’m thinking about now.

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Rooney will be 32 years old by the time that competition comes around and it’ll be intriguing to see how England’s options at the top of the pitch are shaping up if the likes of Harry Kane, Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck all continue developing.

But as the captain, it’s tough to foresee a scenario in which Rooney is shunted aside for someone else. Indeed, he brings a lot of intangible qualities to the table as well, it seems.

“He is so good in that dressing room, he is a winner,” said England team-mate Theo Walcott, per Marc Williams of the Daily Star. “In training, he always wants to win—never wants to lose. He just wants to improve and improve this team. He has that belief in this dressing room that this young talent can actually go on and do something special and I believe that too.”

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If England are to achieve glory next summer or in three years, there are still significant strides to be made under the tutelage of manager Roy Hodgson. But they'll need their talisman to perform and since that remarkable showing from Rooney in the summer of 2004, the current Three Lions captain has failed to shine on the biggest stages in national team colours. 

Now, as the elder statesman in a team full of bright young talent, it’s up to the striker to lead from the front. Hopefully, the added responsibility on Rooney's shoulders will propel him and his team toward some overdue great things.