Even though England has one of the most skilled and versatile squads in global football, they are still chasing their first major men’s title since winning the 1966 World Cup, having lost two consecutive European Championship finals under former manager Gareth Southgate.
Rooney is confident that the strength of the England team and the Premier League will make the Three Lions contenders for the 2026 World Cup, with Bellingham and Kane among the best players in Spain and Germany, respectively…Continue Reading
Kane is England’s top scorer of all time, while 21-year-old Bellingham is expected to be a key figure for the national team for years, following his impressive performances for Borussia Dortmund and now Real Madrid.
However, Rooney believes that Manchester City’s Phil Foden is actually the ‘best player England have.’
Foden didn’t quite meet expectations for England during last summer’s Euros, despite having been a standout player in Manchester City’s title-winning season, earning the Premier League Player of the Season award.
This season, though, Foden has had less playing time, partly due to illness and his delayed return to City after the Euros.
When asked who he ranks as the best player out of England’s current crop of stars, Rooney told talkSPORT: ‘Phil Foden, for me.
‘I know he hasn’t played that much this season for Man City but Phil Foden at his best is the best player England have got.
‘Cole Palmer has been sensational since going to Chelsea and you see everything Jude Bellingham is doing at Real Madrid. But for me Phil Foden is the one, I really enjoy watching him.’
England were struggling before Gareth Southgate took over in 2016, but the former Premier League player guided the Three Lions to two European Championship finals.
They were beaten by Italy in a penalty shootout at Euro 2020 and then narrowly lost 2-1 to Spain in last summer’s Euros final.
Although Rooney believes England will remain contenders for major trophies, he worries that they may have already let their best opportunity slip to break their 58-year trophy drought.
‘They’re very talented,’ Rooney said when asked for his take on the current squad and their trophy prospects.
‘I just hope they haven’t missed it in the last few tournaments because obviously someone like Harry Kane, who has scored a lot of goals, if he’s not quite there in two year’s time at the next tournament, what effect does that have?
‘Hopefully they find a new one in that time or Kane is still banging them in. I just hope they haven’t missed it but then again they’ve still got Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, James Maddison… they’ve got lots of exciting young players.
‘They will be there or thereabouts in the next tournament I’m sure and hopefully they can get over the line.’
