Teddy Sheringham Talks Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane and England's Euro 2016 Chances

Teddy Sheringham believes Wayne Rooney should start up front alongside Harry Kane at UEFA Euro 2016, and he is adamant the pair could combine "perfectly."  

The England captain was absent due to an injury for their impressive 3-2 comeback victory against Germany in Berlin on Saturday, and as a result, his starting spot has been put under threat from Kane, Dele Alli and Jamie Vardy, per BBC Sport's Phil McNulty.

The likes of Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck are also considerations in the attacking positions, but Sheringham is insistent manager Roy Hodgson should stick with Rooney when he returns to fitness, per Squawka's Greg Stobart: 

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Wayne Rooney should start for England without a doubt. He's the England captain. Kane has come on the scene and is demanding he plays with what he’s producing—and I believe Rooney would be a fantastic foil for Kane. 

Kane is now an out-and-out No. 9 and Rooney is an off-the-front player, so I think they would accommodate each other perfectly. They would work well in tandem. Dele Alli is a midfielder who gets forward and Rooney is a forward who comes off the front, so you can fit them in the same team with no problem whatsoever. It wouldn't be like playing Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard together.

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Rooney, 30, has been a major part of the England side for more than a decade and has netted 11 times in 14 matches since the the Three Lions' embarrassing FIFA World Cup 2014 campaign in Brazil, per Stobart.

He became England's all-time leading goalscorer last September in a Euro qualifying match at Wembley against Switzerland, but now, it seems the tide of public opinion is turning against him.

A MailOnline poll asking if Rooney should start at Euro 2016 in the summer returned a result in which 77 per cent of voters said he should not be in the starting XI, per Alex Sharp.

And the Manchester Evening News' Samuel Luckhurst also believes he should be on the bench for the tournament:

Kane has made himself almost an undisputed starter after a second consecutive Premier League season in which he has bagged more than 20 goals, per WhoScored.com. 

Meanwhile, Vardy and Sturridge have also both been more effective than Rooney in the English top flight this season in terms of games per goal, per Sky Sports News HQ:

Hodgson has backed the Manchester United striker, but he did not guarantee he will slot straight back into the starting lineup upon his return to fitness, per McNulty:

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I have to repeat Wayne is our captain and he has captained the team extremely well in the past two years.

He took us through a qualifying campaign where we had a complete success with 10 wins out out 10. It doesn't please me too much that it is suggested now that the moment he is injured and doesn't play he gets jettisoned in some way. He doesn't deserve that.

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Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe believes that England have a good chance of going deep in the France tournament this summer:

Sheringham is also optimistic, although he stopped short of tipping England to win the tournament, per Stobart:

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I don’t think I’ve been as optimistic as this, especially in the last few years. The way they played against Germany was fantastic. I’m not so sure about winning the Euros, it’s a young squad. I would have been more pessimistic four days ago, but now I’m quite optimistic because of the way we played. It’s very exciting.

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For many, England's best side, and the one that has the best chance of going the distance, no longer includes Rooney.

However, Sheringham clearly does not share that opinion and has urged Hodgson to start with both Rooney and Kane when England's Group B opener against Russia comes around on June 11.