Algeria v England - England ace Wayne Rooney ready to make mark on World Cup
Wayne Rooney(credit:
gordonflood.com)
Wayne Rooney is keen to make his mark on the World Cup in England’s clash with Algeria on Friday night.
Rooney, seen by many as the man to fire England to World Cup glory, failed to make an impact during the 1-1 draw with the United States.
But he is not planning to let another World Cup match pass him by.
Rooney said: “This is a great opportunity for me to prove myself at world level.
“I look at what Maradona and Pele did. They took the World Cup by the scruff of the neck and virtually won it single-handed.
“If I can manage half of what they achieved, it would be great.”
Rooney admitted he struggled towards the end of last season, feeling he was not in the best shape physically following an ankle injury.
But he warned Algeria that he is now feeling like the free-scoring Rooney that tormented Premier League defences in the earlier part of the campaign.
“It was difficult for me to play as well as I wanted after I got the injury against Bayern Munich,” he continued.
“I played when I probably shouldn’t and lost my match fitness and sharpness. Even in Austria (at England’s training camp) I had a few niggles and I held myself back in training.
“But since we’ve come over here I’ve felt sharp and been flat out. When I was playing well and scoring goals earlier in the season, I was sharp and hungry in training. That is how I feel at the minute.”
The game is being broadcast on ITV1 and streamed live on ITV.com (kick off 19.30 BST)
But if you can't get near a television, World Cup News has you covered with the latest updates on our website and Twitter service.
Updates will commence from when the starting XIs are announced but, for now, here are the latest odds.
Algeria v England – The Odds
Algeria win – 14/1 (Victor Chandler)
England win – 2/7 (William Hill)
Draw – 5/1 (Blue Square, Paddy Power, StanJames, 888Sport, Ladbrokes)
Algeria v England – First Goalscorer
10/3 Wayne Rooney (Coral)
11/2 Peter Crouch (Bet365, StanJames)
6/1 Jermain Defoe (Paddy Power, StanJames, Ladbrokes), Frank Lampard (Bet365, SkyBet)
7/1 Steven Gerrard (Bet365, Betfred, Paddy Power, StanJames)
8/1 Emile Heskey (Paddy Power, Coral)
10/1 Joe Cole (Betfred, StanJames, Coral)
16/1 James Milner (Coral), Abdelakder Ghezzal (Paddy Power)
33/1 Nadir Belhadj (Bet365, Blue Square, 888Sport)
80/1 Madjid Bougherra (Bet365)
To start in goal for England
10/11 Robert Green (SkyBet)
15/8 David James (William Hill)
8/1 Joe Hart (SkyBet)