England striker Wayne Rooney will be available for selection against Switzerland in Tuesday night’s Euro 2012 qualifier in Basle (Switzerland 10/3, draw 5/2, England 5/6 – 90 minutes).
The Manchester United forward has travelled with the rest of the squad despite strong allegations over his private life being made in the Sunday tabloids.
Speculation suggesting Rooney might pull out has proven to be unfounded and he is set to partner hat-trick Jermain Defoe up front against the notoriously stingy Swiss defence.
Coach Fabio Capello will be delighted to call on Rooney’s services as he looks to take another step towards restoring the feel-good factor around the national side (Rooney 4/1 – First Goalscorer).
The Italian is already without Peter Crouch and Bobby Zamora while Emile Heskey retired from international football after the World Cup.
Capello also has Carlton Cole and Darren Bent at his disposal in Switzerland although both are still feeling their way on to the big stage and their lack of experience would have been a worry without Rooney.
But one player whose lack of experience will not count against him is Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart.
Capello admits he was forced to bring the 23-year-old back down to earth after his debut in a friendly two summers ago which explains his lack of action in South Africa a couple of months ago.
“He probably started to play in the first XI too early,” said Capello. “He started to think ‘I am the best’.
“You have to understand what happens in the mind of the young player. Sometimes it is this. But in two years he has come back.”
Capello added: “He improved a lot last year when he played at Birmingham. That was a really important period for him.
“With any young player, the most important thing is his quality. Now it is really up to him.”
Swizterland drew 0-0 with Australia in a friendly on Friday so Tuesday’s game marks the start of the qualifying campaign and coach Ottmar Hitzfeld insists Rooney remains the danger man (Switzerland 16/5 – To Keep A Clean Sheet against England).
He claimed: “Fabio Capello is not able to leave a player of his class out.
“I am no psychologist but Wayne Rooney is looking sharp and I am sure he will perform well.
“The only reason he didn’t do well in the World Cup was that he was injured beforehand and didn’t have time to make his fitness up in time for the tournament.”
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