Xuenou > Sports > Wayne Rooney insists he could have solved England golden generation’s left-sided problem
Wayne Rooney insists he could have solved England golden generation’s left-sided problem
Wayne Rooney insists he could have solved England golden generation's left-sided problem,Wayne Rooney thinks he could've been the man to solve England's issues on the left-flank at the 2006 World Cup when the Three Lions' squad consisted of the 'golden generation'.

Wayne Rooney insists he could have solved England golden generation’s left-sided problem

Wayne Rooney reckons he was the solution to England's problems on the left-flank at the 2006 World Cup.

Rooney was part of the Three Lions squad dubbed the 'golden generation', consisting of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand, and John Terry, for the competition held in Germany. They were led by Sven Goran-Eriksson into tournament, but crashed out in the quarter-finals on penalties to Portugal.

However, Rooney believes England's campaign could've had a different outcome if Sven put his faith in him to play on the left, a problematic position for the team. Although the Manchester United legend liked Sven as a person, he feels the Swede's fatal mistake as England boss was the tactics he deployed in the World Cup, especially for the Three Lions' opening match against Paraguay.

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Speaking to The Times, he said: "I liked Sven, he had a great demeanour, but he did make one big mistake. Just before our first game in 2006, he came out and said, 'If everyone’s fit, this is my starting XI . . .' and for the lads who weren’t in it, that was tough.

"And we had only one way of playing and one system — a 4-4-2, in which he struggled to fit in all the midfield talent we had.

Do you think Rooney was the answer to England's problems on the left? Let us know in the comments section below

Rooney believes he was played out of position at the 2006 World Cup by Sven Goran-Eriksson (Image: PA)

"When you look back, it seems obvious he should have gone 4-3-3 with [Paul] Scholes, [Steven] Gerrard and [Frank] Lampard in the middle and played Michael Owen as the one striker. Me? Well, our problem position was always wide left, and I could have played there."

Playing Rooney at all was a risk as he was injured going into the tournament. The striker fractured his metatarsals which led to Sven and Sir Alex Ferguson feuding over his involvement in the competition.

Sven led England to the quarter finals at the tournament (Image: Cracchiolo/REX/Shutterstock)

To make matters worse for Rooney, he was sent off when England lost to Portugal in 2006, following Cristiano Ronaldo's impassioned plea to the referee.

Ronaldo winked after Rooney received his marching orders, but the pair patched things up when they returned to Manchester United after the World Cup finished, although they're no longer friends due to the Portuguese star's explosive interview slamming the DC United boss.

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