England may have qualified for the Round of 16 with an excellent display of football against Slovenia in their final group match, but the form of Wayne Rooney remains a big concern for the Three Lions and their coach Fabio Capello ahead of a crucial last 16 encounter with Germany on 27 June.
Wayne Rooney was thought to be England’s biggest hope before their World Cup campaign kicked off on 12 June with a 1-1 draw with USA. However, the Manchester United striker failed to live up to the expectation in all the three group stage matches.
Coming off his best season with Manchester United that saw him netting 34 goals, Rooney looked shaky and out of shape in the group stage matches. Even against Slovenia when his England teammates showed considerable improvement, Rooney remained the shadow of his own self. In fact, Rooney was perhaps one of the least impressive England players in the group stage.
People are suggesting a number of reasons for his poor show. Some say the injury he suffered towards the end of the last season is the reason behind his struggling for form, while some others indicate the altitude problem for not seeing the real Rooney in South Africa.
There are many who believe that the psychical and mental pressure that he dealt with while representing Manchester United since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo have taken a heavy toll on his body and mind, specially during the busy second half of the season.
Well, the list of reasons could go on and on. Now, the thing is that Wayne Rooney has been declared fit for the Germany showdown, removing fears that surfaced among the England fans following his substitution during the Slovenia match after receiving a minor knock to his ankle.
Now, the million dollar question is if Wayne Rooney would get his form back against Germany. Only time can tell that, but there are huge expectations from him as usual. Though there are people who suggest Rooney should be given rest for a match or put on the substitute bench, it seems less likely that Capello would dare to leave his best striker for a match which could well end their World Cup campaign on Sunday.
Capello might not want to leave his "best" striker on the bench but, at this moment in time, he IS NOT the best striker. Capello should put Crouch on for a game and see what he does. Let's put it this way, he couldn't do any worse. Rooney is a waste of space - even when he gets the ball he loses it. Gerrard has scored, Defoe has scored. Rooney hasn't. Put Crouch on. Bet he scores.
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