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Wayne Rooney will miss the first two of England’s three group games, after being shown a straight red card for kicking Montenegro’s Miodrag Dzudovic during England’s last qualifier game. A player like Rooney, who could single handedly change the game, is very important to any team and his absence will be felt. But England do have players, who can step up and perform when needed.
3.Danny Welbeck (Manchester United, Forward)
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Wayne Rooney’s Manchester United teammate is the only striker – apart from Rooney himself – in the England touring party, who has been in good form for the whole season. The other two strikers – Jermain Defoe and Andy Carroll have shown only flashes of brilliance. but were inconsistent in their performance. Defoe has been used as a second choice striker behind Emmanuel Adebayor at Spurs, while Carroll showed flashes of his Newcastle form towards the end of the season at Liverpool. Danny Welbeck is expected to get the nod ahead of the two strikers, and would be a good choice as the lone striker in the 4-4-1-1 formation that Roy Hodgson is set to employ in Rooney’s absence. The United youngster has scored 12 goals for his club this season including goals against Tottenham, Arsenal and Everton and also netted his first England goal in the recent 1-0 friendly win over Belgium at the Wembley.
2. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool, Midfielder)
Roy Hodgson doesn’t need to bring in new players to fill in Rooney’s boots for the first two matches, he can also encourage the old and experienced ones to up their game and Steven Gerrard is one of them. The Liverpool skipper was handed the England captaincy and he will look to inspire England to go all the way to the final. Liverpool’s No.8 had a mixed season for Liverpool last season mainly because of injuries, but he is fully fit for the Euros and is raring to go. The England team will need him even more now than ever with Rooney absent. Gerrard is expected to start in the center of the four man midfield behind Ashley Young. It’s a position which would suit Gerrard very well, as he will be able to see more of the ball and dictate the game. Gerrard has inspired Liverpool to many important wins in the past, and he certainly needs to do the same for England in Rooney’s absence.
1. Ashley Young (Manchester United, Midfielder)
Ashley Young has had a decent first season for Manchester United scoring six league goals, but he has been one of the top performers for England in the past year or so. The former Aston Villa winger has managed to score six goals and has six assists to his name in his twenty-games for the Three Lions so far. He averages a goal and an assist every three games. Young scored the only goal against Norway and assisted Welbeck’s first half winner against Belgium, in Hodgson’s first two games as England boss. The former West Brom boss is expected to play Young in Rooney’s role, as a support striker behind Danny Welbeck in the 4-4-1-1 formation, and will be hoping that the Manchester United winger will continue his fine form for his country at the Euros and perform for the Three Lions, when they need him the most.
