As the World Cup draws ever nearer, eyes in England are focused on striker Wayne Rooney to see if he can finally deliver at a major tournament for the Three Lions.
The 28-year-old has failed to find the net in his previous two tournaments where he failed to find his top form.
Rooney himself has admitted that the competition in Brazil could be his last chance to make a major impact on the biggest stage of them all.
He said: “I feel this is the really last big one that I feel will probably get the best out of me. I feel ready, fresh and as good as I can do to go into this tournament. This is the one where I have to show what I can do.”
Germany 2006
Ready for England Duty
In his first World Cup the Manchester United striker was coming into the tournament off the back of a serious injury he sustained towards the end of the 2005-6 season against Chelsea.
Rooney had fractured his metatarsal and was a major doubt. However, he made a quick recovery and managed to feature in England’s second game against Trinidad and Tobago and started against Sweden.
Sven Goran Eriksson’s side made it past Ecuador in the second round of the competition, but then disaster struck for the Three Lions when Rooney was sent off for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho in the quarter final against Portugal.
England crashed out on penalties and Rooney’s reputation was left in tatters as he failed to score and his lasting legacy on Germany was seeing red, much to the delight of Cristiano Ronaldo.
South Africa 2010
Hopes for high for Rooney to make his mark in South Africa as he entered the tournament following the best season of his career notching 26 goals in the Premier League for United.
However, he and along with his teammates failed to find any form whatsoever in the competition and following a 0-0 draw with Algeria, England were booed off by their own fans much to the frustration of Rooney.
A win over Slovenia was enough to put the Three Lions into the knockout stages but Rooney once again struggled in front of goal as he failed to find the scoresheet for the third game in a row.
England’s and Rooney’s miserable tournament came to an end with a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Germany with the striker again failing to make an impact.
Brazil 2014
England on his shoulders
Expectations of Roy Hodgson’s side are low going into the tournament and that could be an advantage to Rooney and his teammates.
The country will look to him to find his form on the international stage to prove he can do it once and for overall as he comes off the back off a good season at least on a personal level with United.
Rooney notched 17 goals in the Premier League, but a groin injury ruled him out of the last three games of the season.
The 28-year-old will need to find his touch again in the Three Lions’ warm-up games and maybe then he could finally crack the World Cup.
