Juan Mata Reveals Wayne Rooney Warning, Talks England, Spain, Euro 2016 and More

Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has revealed his Red Devils team-mate Wayne Rooney has warned him England will beat Spain in Friday’s friendly and that he thinks the Three Lions have the tools to win the UEFA European Championships in France next summer.

Mata was speaking to the media ahead of the exhibition match in Alicante and was asked whether or not he had had any contact with his club captain ahead of the fixture.

Even though Rooney won’t be playing in the match, per BBC Sport, it seems as though he’s been in bullish mood in the build-up, per Alberto Pinero of Goal:

"

I have had some contact with my team-mates, especially on WhatsApp. Wayne Rooney was telling me that they were going to beat us and that they are ready to play against Spain.

They were watching some videos about us, about how we play, who could play, and I think they are very keen on playing the game and beating us. So obviously we have to be ready for that.

"

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Mata was also asked about how far he felt England could go at Euro 2016.

“They have a good manager and they are ready to fight against anyone,” said the United man. “And I seriously believe they can win the next Euros and that they can be fighting for the title because I think they have a lot of qualities in their team.”

The qualification period definitely bodes well for England, as they won all 10 of their matches. However, there are still concerns about the quality within the squad, the capabilities of manager Roy Hodgson and whether or not the Three Lions have the mentality to excel in the pressure stages of a major tournament.

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Rooney is set to skipper the England team at Euro 2016 and has enjoyed a fine year for England. By contrast, his performances for United this season have left a lot to be desired, and as we can see here courtesy of Sky Sports News HQ, he has a lot of competition for his place at the moment:

Spain are in a transitional phase themselves as they continue putting the pieces back together after their disastrous 2014 World Cup. The European Championships is a trophy they’ve won twice in a row, and a third triumph in succession would further cement this generation’s legacy as one of the finest football teams in history.

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Mata will be desperate to play a key role and has enjoyed a brilliant beginning to the season. However, as we can see courtesy of the Spain team’s Twitter feed (h/t Bleacher Report UK), there are a lot of quality options for manager Vicente del Bosque to chose from in his position on the pitch:

After being marginalised in the wake of the World Cup, it seems as though Mata is slowly making himself a key fixture in the Spain team again. As noted in Pinero’s piece, the former Chelsea man was given the captain’s armband during the team’s clash with Ukraine recently, and it was an honour the midfielder admitted he was privileged to be bestowed with.

“To wear the captain's armband is a dream for any Spanish player,” Mata told Pinero. “I'm very proud. And I'm very much keen to keep performing well this year in order to be on that final list for Euro 2016. That would be a great reward for me.”

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A strong performance from Mata against some players he knows well would further enhance his chances of getting into the Spain XI. What’s more likely to make him undroppable is more classy displays for United, though, especially with the likes of David Silva, Andres Iniesta, Koke, Isco and Pedro all likely to be battling for similar spots in the team.

If Mata can continue producing the goods for the Red Devils, Rooney will benefit. Even so, should England thrive against the European champions without their skipper on Friday, questions will start to be asked about whether the forward should be guaranteed a spot in the starting XI, as has been the case at club level in the opening weeks of 2015-16.