By Chris Hatherall. Friday, 02 September 2005.
Wayne Rooney is backing England to win the World Cup but says his first priority is to play well against Wales.
The Manchester United striker has been in outstanding form this season, looking lethal at club level and scoring four goals in the opening weeks of the campaign.
He was also one of the few England players to escape criticism in Denmark, when he scored in a 4-1 defeat. But the teenager sets his standards so high that he insists he wasn’t happy with his display in Copenhagen and wants to put it right against Wales on Saturday.
He said: "It was a very disappointing result for all of us in Denmark and a bad performance by the team. And I wasn’t happy with my efforts, either. I managed to get a goal but I was lucky because I didn’t feel I deserved it with a performance like that.
"I know I am capable of doing a lot better with that so I was very frustrated.
"I couldn’t get hold of the ball in the first half and, as for the second half, well that’s just something I want to forget all about. But it’s a display which is still fresh in the mind and that makes us even more determined to put things right on Saturday.
"We’ve got to get out there and put on the sort of performance we need."
If England can pick up six points from difficult away trips to Cardiff and Belfast it would put the Three Lions in a very strong position to qualify for the World Cup Finals.
And once there Rooney believes the team is capable of lifting the trophy if everything goes well.
He said: "I think we’re capable of going all the way at the World Cup. If you look through the squad, we’ve got some great players.
"We know there will be tough games in Germany, especially if we come up against Brazil or France. But we won’t fear anyone.
"We have to be confident and believe that we can beat these teams. But we have to qualify first."