Wayne Rooney Must Make Himself Indispensable to England in Friendly vs Australia
Wayne Rooney is set for a trip down memory lane when England face Australia on Friday in the second of their Euro 2016 warm-up matches.
The 30-year-old made his international debut against the Socceroos back in 2003. In an otherwise drab 3-1 friendly defeat at Upton Park, the teenage striker lit up England's showing, notably helping create Francis Jeffers' goal.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
The precocious star had the whole football world in front of him then. Thirteen years later, Rooney has a far narrower remit in which he can impose himself—especially when it comes to the national team.
Despite a European Championship qualifying campaign in which he scored seven goals, becoming England's all-time top scorer in the process, the veteran is no longer guaranteed a place. At least, he's not guaranteed the forward role he has primarily occupied throughout his career.
After over a decade as the team's star, previous failures in major tournaments and the emergence of others over the last year means he is now required to make himself indispensable in a different way if he is to play. If selected, this begins with Australia.
That Rooney has this chance is a start.
Manager Roy Hodgson has not forgotten Rooney's part in his team going unbeaten in qualification (not to mention his leading the way in seeing off the then-ascendant old rivals Scotland in a "friendly"). The Manchester United man has captained the side since Steven Gerrard's post-2014 World Cup retirement.
Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy have come into the mix in the latter part of this period. The early indication from the wins over Germany and Turkey is not only that they will be able to replicate their outstanding club form, but that they may also be able to do it co-exisiting in the same side.
Rooney (pictured above, back in training) was absent for those games, and at least in the public eye, has suffered for being out of sight, if not out of mind. Even a believer in his enduring ability, such as Hodgson, appears unable to ignore the greater present powers the Premier League's in-form men offer—at least when it comes to leading his attack.
The England boss' backing of Rooney up until now suggests he will look to accommodate him, however.
"He has captained the team extremely well these past two years and taken us through a qualification campaign where we had complete success, 10 wins out of 10, so it doesn’t please me too much when it is suggested that the moment he gets injured and doesn’t play he deserves to be jettisoned in some way," Hodgson said prior to the March win over Germany, per the Guardian's Daniel Taylor.
"He certainly doesn’t deserve that, and when he comes back and is fit again, he is going to be putting enormous pressure on these players, just as these players have been putting enormous pressure on him."
With Vardy absent for Australia having been granted leave to get married, Rooney has an opportunity to do just that.
Questions remain over whether he can deliver in an alternative position, or if he even deserves to be tried elsewhere. The likes of Dele Alli, Adam Lallana and Raheem Sterling will all believe they can do a better job in their more natural positions.
Rooney enjoyed his best day yet in Manchester United's fledgling experiment with him in midfield in their FA Cup triumph over Crystal Palace. He launched some of the Red Devils' better attacks and made the decisive, timely drive forward that led to Juan Mata's equaliser in the 2-1 win (see 3:14 mark on the below video).
Yet, even this switch is partly an acknowledgement of his diminishing threat to opponents.
"Unfortunately for him, his adaptation to a midfield role is not based on his ability in that position so much as it is in his inability to make a consistent impact as a forward," wrote Paul Ansorge, Bleacher Report's featured columnist for United, this week.
"There was a time when Rooney would have been the envy of any team in the world, but it is not yet clear whether there should be an automatic place for him in the starting XI next season."
While a midfield assignment should not be ruled out, our first look at Rooney in these Euro 2016 preparations seems likely to be on the left of England's front three.
With first-choice player Danny Welbeck injured and Vardy less comfortable on the wing against Turkey than he was when used centrally in the second half, there is scope for the skipper to stake a claim against Australia.
On paper Rooney would seem a solid fit. His natural game sees him occupy wide positions on occasion anyway, while his combative style allows him to engage opponents anywhere.
In practice, a peripheral role has not always suited him for England, and now it may be asking too much.
Rooney played wide left in the 2-1 World Cup loss to Italy in 2014 (albeit as part of something closer to a 4-2-3-1 than the current 4-3-3). Re-watching that game, there were some typically classy contributions—notably his fine control and cross in transition, setting up Daniel Sturridge's goal—but for the most part, he looked uncomfortable.
He saw little of the ball early on and within 20 minutes was searching for it centrally. When he did receive it out wide, he lacked the speed to do much more than quickly get rid of it, losing most duels he participated in (one penalised crunching challenge from Daniele De Rossi left him complaining on the ground).
Defensively, Rooney provided minimal protection for left-back Leighton Baines too. England were ill-advisedly content to allow Italy space to bring it forward (a strategy still somewhat part of Hodgson's planning now), but even so the free-spirited attacker was not suited to such monotonous covering.
Although better used centrally against Uruguay a game later, team-mates like Sterling and Sturridge were still more exciting in possession. It's just like how Kane and Vardy have looked more capable of hurting opponents in recent fixtures.
That Rooney has publicly bought into what the new faces offer, per BBC Football Focus in April, is a good sign of intent. He will want to be part of this exciting attacking unit moving forward, and that will mean reiterating against Australia what he can provide along with them.
Hodgson is inclined to give him this shot, and his part getting England to this point warrants that much. With several making strong arguments for these other roles too (Marcus Rashford and Sturridge for back-up striking duties, Lallana and Sterling as more natural wingers, Alli and Jack Wilshere in attacking midfield) Rooney can afford little short of his most urgent work.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
