Jack Wilshere has praised England captain Wayne Rooney for his performance in the 1-1 draw with Russia.
Even though England were unable to get the victory that they were seeking so desperately, there were some positives for the national team in the form of Rooney’s performance. Despite playing in a midfield role, Rooney was at the heart of everything good done by England. It was rather surprising to see him substituted for Wilshere in the second half. However, England manager Roy Hodgson seems to have been thinking about preserving the 1-0 lead rather than going for scoring more goals.
The decision ultimately proved to be the downfall for the national team, as they now face an uphill task in order to qualify from the group. Wales are known the biggest competitors after Chris Coleman’s team secured a 2-1 win against Slovakia. A match between the two teams comes up in the next few days and it is a must win for England. However, they will feel rather confident about doing well since Rooney has given them a major boost. Wilshere feels that if England perform just as they did against Russia, they stand a good chance of winning against Wales.
The Arsenal midfielder, though, expressed his doubts initially as to whether Rooney can perform in the midfield after having been a striker throughout his career. “He is fantastic. I watched him towards the end of the season playing for Manchester United in that deeper role.People saying can he do it? I’m sitting there thinking he’s doing it and he is the best player on the pitch. He is that type of player, he can understand the game. He can pick up on the ball. He is comfortable on the ball and you saw his range of passing as well,” said Wilshere.