Talisman Wayne Rooney’s goal drought stretched on as England crashed out of the FIFA World Cup™ at the hands of old rivals Germany on Sunday. Drawing a blank in the match in Bloemfontein means the Manchester United star, after a stellar season for his club, has still never found the net at a FIFA World Cup.

He came to South Africa billed as one of the world’s top players along with the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo but has now failed to net in eight finals matches – including against minnows Algeria and Slovenia.

England goalkeeper David James said Germany should take credit for nullifying Rooney. “You have to give credit to the opposition. The teams know how good he is and they did all they can to stop him from playing,” said James.

“He wasn’t given freedom and today there were times when he had to come deep in order to pick the ball up and I always say if he has to do that then he’s not getting the joy up front. Again that has to be credit towards the opposition in the way they nullified his offensive capabilities.”

Winning his 64th cap in the Free State stadium, Rooney struggled to make an impact early on, with his touch heavy as England failed to find a rhythm in front of thousands of fans who turned the game into virtual home match.

Minutes after Germany opened the scoring on 20 minutes through Miroslav Klose, Rooney lashed wide from outside the penalty box and Lukas Podolski soon doubled Germany’s lead before England pulled one back through Matthew Upson.

As the second half wore on Rooney began to exert more influence on the game, probing around the edge of the box. But England failed to find a second goal as Rooney’s influence once again faded, with his team-mates unable to put him in clear goalscoring positions. Germany scored twice more through Thomas Mueller to make it 4-1 and turn the evening into a disastrous occasion for England.

Rooney came into the match with 25 international goals but no goal for club or country since he scored for Manchester United in their UEFA Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich in March. Despite nine goals in nine FIFA World Cup qualifiers, he has not netted for England since scoring in the 5-1 win over Croatia in September 2009.

Rooney was a shadow of his marauding self in South Africa, cutting a frustrated figure as England laboured to qualify from their group. His problems even prompted club boss Sir Alex Ferguson to pick up the phone to call his star striker amid fears over the weight of expectation on his shoulders.

Wayne Rooney has vowed to do himself “justice” during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ after admitting he was well below his best in Germany four years ago.

Rooney was playing catch-up during the last tournament after suffering a broken foot in the April before in a tackle by Chelsea’s Paolo Ferreira at Stamford Bridge and, by his own admission, he was lacking the sharpness required for a FIFA World Cup.

However, Rooney feels in a more upbeat mood now, despite England only managing to draw their opening game with the USA, and the Manchester United star admits it will be “more or less down to me” to score the goals if England are to achieve glory next month.

“I feel a lot more comfortable and more positive this time than in Germany,” said Rooney. “With the last World Cup, I didn’t train with the lads beforehand, and didn’t play in any of the warm-up games because of my injury. I got thrown straight into a few games and you know you are not match fit.

“I didn’t feel that I did myself justice and I’m hoping this World Cup I can do myself justice. I am happy. I feel good and the way the lads have trained, we are looking good and sharp.”

Rooney has hit the target 25 times in 61 appearances for England, although he has managed only one international goal in the last 12 months – against Croatia at Wembley. He is confident, however, that the sequence will end sooner rather than later.

“The fact I’ve not scored for England for a while is not really a concern,” he said. “I’d like to score. As a forward you want to score goals. I don’t mind not scoring if we win. But I know for us to win, it will be more or less down to me to score the goals – whether it is now or later in the competition. I hope I go on a real scoring run when I get my next goal. It is nice for a forward to score goals and hopefully I can get one on Friday.”

Rooney insists he is happy to play within whatever system Fabio Capello opts to start with against Algeria, feeling equally at home in a lone striking role or alongside either Emile Heskey, Peter Crouch or Jermain Defoe.

He said: “It is down to the manager to decide. I will play wherever he wants me to play. Throughout the qualifying campaign, it worked really well with myself and Emile so if that is how he wants to play, I am happy with that. I enjoy playing there so I have no problems with that. But I feel comfortable whether with a partner or on my own. I am happy either way.”

Wayne Rooney has been warned he must keep the lid on his emotions or risk a repeat of the red-card misery he endured at the last FIFA World Cup™.

Rooney’s volatility was on display again in England’s final warm-up match on Monday, a 3-0 win over local club Platinum Stars in which he was booked for dissent and was guilty of several challenges that could kindly be described as over-enthusiastic.

Jeff Selogilwe, the match referee, received an apology and Rooney’s shirt after the match. But that did not prevent him from issuing a warning to the Manchester United striker, who was sent off in England’s 2006 quarter-final defeat by Portugal.

“I was very disappointed in Rooney because he is my favourite player,” Selogilwe said. “He is a good player when you see him on the TV, but when you see him on the pitch, he just keeps on insulting the referees. To me it looks like Rooney insults people and fouls other players.

“If he insults a referee like me then he will use that vulgar language to other referees as well. He must learn to control his temper. He could get sent off in the World Cup, especially if he uses this kind of language.”

Rooney’s importance to England was underlined again on Monday when his entrance as a second-half substitute – combined with a half-time rollicking from coach Fabio Capello – sparked a significant improvement in their performance after the interval.

The striker set up Joe Cole for the second goal before scoring the third himself with a fine volley from James Milner’s cross. Afterwards, Rooney shrugged off concerns over his on-field discipline, insisting he was just raring to get started with the real action, which for England means Saturday’s Group C against USA.

“We are ready – these are preparation games for us for the big one now coming up on Saturday,” Rooney said. “I just can’t wait now. The sooner it comes, the better.”

Team-mate Defoe backed Rooney’s view that England are ready to challenge at this FIFA World Cup, although he acknowledged they were still adjusting to the 1,500m-plus altitude of South Africa’s high veldt.

“It was a really good work-out. With the conditions, the altitude and the heat, it made it difficult, but it helped with the fitness for what is ahead. You do notice the altitude here when you’re running around. It’s different, and we’re a lot higher here than we were in Austria but I’m sure we’ll get used to it in training.

“I don’t think we could be better prepared for a World Cup. I think everything we’ve done – the training, the fitness work – has been spot-on. The hotel is brilliant. We’ve got everything we need, so the preparation has been good and, if you prepare right, you get results. Everyone’s hungry. We want to win it. We’ll take each game as it comes, but I think we’ve got that winning mentality.”

Wayne Rooney cannot wait for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ to begin. Although the subject of his temper was a major topic of conversation during yesterday’s 3-0 win over Platinum Stars in an unofficial friendly, the England forward is focused purely on beating USA in the Group C opener in Rustenburg on Saturday.

“I just can’t wait now,” he said. “The sooner it comes, the better.” Rooney wrapped up England’s win yesterday, having already set up Joe Cole for their second.

There were a few hints at Fabio Capello’s likely starting line-up at the weekend, with Emile Heskey partnering the Manchester United man in attack after the interval. Cole played on the left, while Steven Gerrard’s partnership with Frank Lampard in central midfield at the start looked as though it was a fairly definitive statement on England’s engine room.

At the back, Ledley King was matched up with old friend John Terry at the heart of England’s defence. Given the former’s relatively infrequent appearances, either on the training ground or in a match, Joe Hart’s presence in goal, without having started a game for his country, was intriguing, although Robert Green was between the sticks for the Tottenham Hotspur captain’s last appearance against Mexico at Wembley last month.

Not that yesterday’s performance was a triumph for anyone, even if Rooney found reasons to be cheerful. “It was a good run out,” he said.

“We needed to get the game in and to play 45 minutes felt good, so I was happy. We got out of it what he needed. I would have liked to have got a bit more of a game but I was happy with the 45 minutes.”

Unfortunately, Rooney also picked up a booking for dissent and offered ammunition for Alexi Lalas, who has claimed that USA should attempt to wind England’s star man up in the hope of distracting him from his overall objective. Yet Jermain Defoe, who scored the opener yesterday, has no intention of calling for the former Everton player to curb his volatile temper.

“If under control, I think Wayne’s temper is a good thing,” said the Spurs striker. ”He has that fire in his belly. If you take that away from him then he won’t be the same player.”

Tim Howard has hailed Wayne Rooney as the best striker in the world but believes that USA’s own forwards can trouble England in their FIFA World Cup™ opener in Rustenburg on Saturday.

Howard has first-hand experience of Rooney from their two years together at Manchester United before he moved to Everton in 2006 after the signing of Edwin van der Sar. He has immense respect for the 24-year-old who is pivotal to England’s hopes of doing themselves justice in South Africa during the next month.

But Howard has also been impressed by the current USA front pair of Edson Buddle and Robert Findley who looked sharp during the weekend victory over Australia in Johannesburg. Howard said: “I get asked if I am looking forward to facing Wayne Rooney. I don’t think I ever look forward to facing Wayne Rooney.

“He is the best striker in the world and has enjoyed a fantastic season. He is a fantastic player, so I’ll be very careful what I say! But we also have Edson and Robbie who are playing fantastic together, individuallly and collectively, with the way they are linking up.

“They looked dangerous against Australia and hopefully they will be dangerous for a few more games coming up. It seems everything Edson touches is a goal and Robbie is creating so many chances. It is important the guys are clicking for what is basically a three-game tournament [to qualify] – and those guys are at the moment.”

Howard is disappointed that another former United team-mate in England skipper Rio Ferdinand will miss the tournament through his knee ligament injury suffered in training on Friday. But he is confident Fabio Capello’s side will recover from this setback in time for the USA clash.

Howard, 31, said: “I am devastated for Rio as I am sure most of his team-mates and his friends are. I don’t know how it will affect the team but I think they are all very strong characters. As the week goes on, I am sure they will be fully prepared for the game ahead.”

Howard has taken heart from the gradual improvement in the USA side during their build-up to the finals. He said: “I saw an improvement from the Czech game, I saw an improvement to the Turkey game and again in the Australia game. I think it is still a work in progress and we are trying to get better.

“There have been some huge positives. We are hoping things are starting to click, we feel good about our last couple of results. Training has been good and we are in a very positive spirit.”

England star Wayne Rooney has no intention of protecting himself to ensure he gets to the FIFA World Cup™ in one piece.

Rooney injured his neck during the latter stages of Monday night’s friendly win over Mexico at Wembley, sparking yet more concerns about his well-being.

It is only a month ago that Rooney was struck down by ankle and groin injuries that helped wreck Manchester United’s bid for Premier League and Champions League glory.

Fabio Capello moved quickly to allay fears about the 24-year-old’s latest knock, and Rooney clearly has no intention of wrapping himself in cotton wool to avoid further fitness concerns.

“You have to go into each game and play like you normally do,” he said. “If things happen then hard luck. We’ll just have to get on with it. It’s not pressure. I just try to give my all every time I play. I actually feel quite good. I have a bit of a stiff neck but that will be gone in a couple of days.”

A more obvious problem is the fact Rooney has scored just once in his last seven games, having bagged 10 in a similar amount of time just before.

Sunday’s final friendly with Japan in Graz offers another opportunity for the striker to end that run, and open a gap over Peter Crouch that narrowed to just four when the Tottenham man scored his 21st international goal on Monday night.

source : www.fifa.com