England

Wayne Rooney hails England youth

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 17 October 2013

Wayne Rooney believes that the quality of young players beginning to establish themselves in the England side will take some of the pressure off him in next year's World Cup.

Wayne Rooney has praised the quality of the young players beginning to establish themselves in the England side.

The likes of Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge and Andros Townsend played a major role in helping England to reach the 2014 World Cup with back-to-back wins over Montenegro and Poland in the last week.

Ross Barkley and Jack Wilshere were also in the squad for the double header, and Rooney believes that the quality of such players will take some of the pressure off him in next year's World Cup.

"The younger players have taken that off me now. We have got so many exciting players, you look at Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge, Andros Townsend coming in, Ross Barkley, Jack Wilshere, there is a mix of talent so it's important we can use all them and the qualities they have got to try to be successful," Rooney told PA.

Rooney, who made his debut for England 10 years ago, is now one of the squad's senior players with 86 caps to his name, and he is hopeful that he can use his experience to help the younger players improve.

"I think I've always been quite vocal in the dressing room but obviously, there are a lot of young players in there. So it's down to us all really to help them because, especially towards the end of games like the one against Poland, when we've got to see it out, it's vital that we have the players who've been there and done it who can help them," he added.

"The young players who have come in have been great and given us a real excitement going forwards."

England moved up seven places in the latest FIFA rankings but still missed out on a top seed for the 2014 World Cup.