Soccer: Rooney relishes role

Every match has meaning for Fabio Capello, not least when Croatia are visiting this week in a game that will tell us much about how far England have come under their new coach.

Capello's strong team selection for this friendly with Slovenia demonstrated how seriously he took this.

But the true measure of England's progress under him comes on Thursday morning (NZ time) with the visit of Croatia, when England have a chance to clinch their place at next summer's World Cup finals and, at the same stroke, gain some revenge for their embarrassing 3-2 home defeat by the same opponents 22 months ago.

The match should also go some way to showing if Capello's men are potential world-beaters against the side that accounted for his predecessor, Steve McClaren. The vision of the "wally with the brolly" is etched deep in the English psyche but England have changed since that rain-sodden night.

Capello swiftly succeeded in his first goal of dispelling the anxiety that came from wearing an England shirt.

Instead the fear comes from knowing you might be dropped for the next game if you don't perform.

He then drew up his beloved 4-3-2-1 formation after his first couple of matches and has stuck with it. Players come in and out but the structure remains intact. Everyone knows his role and they have to stick to it.

For Frank Lampard, this has meant suppressing his attacking instincts and doing a bit more donkey work alongside Gareth Barry in front of the back four. For Steven Gerrard, Capello's plan has meant accepting greater positional discipline on patrol down the left side of England's midfield. Capello has asked England's two senior midfielders to play out of their preferred positions to leave the stage clear for Wayne Rooney.

The Italian has reconstructed his England side with virtually the same personnel used by his predecessor. But this time, the 11 on the pitch know what they have to do and the star of the show is Rooney, who no longer has to compete with Gerrard and Lampard for the same space just behind the lone striker, most often Emile Heskey.

The response has been akin to turning on a tap for Rooney, who is enjoying his best scoring run for England. He should also have added a couple more. In the first half Mathew Upson's header fell at his feet from a corner, but from close range Rooney's shot found the post, not the net. Midway through the second Aaron Lennon teed him up but Matej Mavric cleared off the line.

His last kick of the match was a half-volley from 40m that looped over the bar. No matter, he has proved his form with four goals in four Premier League games for Manchester United this season.

- INDEPENDENT