Don’t change the team that beat Wales, Harry Kane to stay central – and score, says Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney has admitted that Gareth Southgate’s England team can learn from their shock Euro 2016 loss to Iceland to overcome the pressures of playing knockout football.

Writing in a column for the sunday timeThe former Manchester United striker, who has scored 53 goals in 120 appearances for the Three Lions, shed light on how difficult knockout football can be, but admitted he had confidence in the Southgate team, who have experience playing in big games.

England advanced to the World Cup round of 16 following their convincing 3-0 win against Wales on Tuesday and will face Senegal today with the 37-year-old confident the Three Lions will advance to the next round.

Wayne Rooney (centre) says England can learn from the 2016 loss to Iceland during the World Cup

Rooney also backed Harry Kane (pictured) to be vital during their knockout clash against Senegal.

“I played in five knockout games for England and we only won one: against Ecuador in the 2006 World Cup,” Rooney wrote. “Our elimination against Iceland at Euro 2016 was the biggest example of what can go wrong. Negative thoughts about the match were not a problem at the time, I never thought we would lose.

‘The problem was how we reacted to setbacks during the game. When we were down 2-1 after 18 minutes, we didn’t recover and with about 30 minutes to go we panicked, changed our way of playing, played too early and lost our discipline and form. Once you do that against a team that is stubborn and hard to beat, like Iceland was, there’s no way you’re going back in.”

The former England striker also said Gareth Southgate (right) should not change teams

Marcus Rashford (right) was an integral part of England’s convincing defeat to Wales on Tuesday night.

Southgate (pictured) will have some selection headaches to consider ahead of Sunday’s match

Despite reflecting on his own team’s knockout football woes, Rooney backs the Southgate team to learn from those experiences, as well as his earlier heartbreak at the Euro 2020 final and the 2018 World Cup.

‘This England team has its own example to learn from. In the Euro 2020 final, after scoring early against Italy, it was as if the game plan they started with had gone overboard and they ended up being reactive and defensive. They got through a period of difficult times, but then conceded. Getting back to a positive mindset after you’ve been defending is hard. So in this game England must be calculated and stick to their plans.”

England’s plan worked well against Wales earlier in the week, with Marcus Rashford lighting up the game in the second half with a beautiful free kick that opened the scoring for the Three Lions.

And the former Derby County manager thinks Southgate should stick to the same plan, starting the same team against Senegal that they played against Wales, singling out Harry Kane as their key man.

Unconcerned by Kane’s lack of goals during the World Cup, Rooney is still impressed with his consistency and performances, pairing both Phil Foden for England vs Wales and Raheem Sterling vs Iran with two excellent goals.

Harry Kane is made for these games. The games that are tighter, where the pressure is higher, where football has to be more calculated, is where Harry steps up. He hasn’t scored in the tournament yet, but I think there will be a change in his thinking. He’ll think, ‘okay, it’s up to me now to make sure we make progress,’ and I think this is when he’ll come to life.’

Surrounding Kane, Southgate have a major selection headache over who else should start at the top, with Rashford, Bukayo Saka or Raheem Sterling all capable of changing the game.

But Rooney (pictured) backs England to beat Senegal despite it being a physical game.

For Rooney, the decision is simple: “I would stay with the team that beat Wales and keep Rashford and Foden. Foden gives you better control and helps you play a lot more and you could see Rashford’s confidence grow after his goals against the Welsh”. . Trust is the key for him.

After watching him develop at Manchester United, Rooney praised the striker’s ability to run back and capitalize on balls coming in, and suggested he will watch the likes of Kylian Mbappé and emulate the French striker’s direct style of play.

Rooney also gave an honest opinion on England’s chances tonight, admitting that although Senegal will feel like they’re ‘representing a whole continent’ during this match, England should still qualify for the next round of the World Cup.