England will be more relaxed going forward after win over Croatia, admits Wayne Rooney
England beat Croatia 1-0 in their Euro 2020 opener
|Wayne Rooney has heaped praises on England for getting off to a winning start at the European Championships, highlighting their ‘professional’ manner. The Three Lions won their opening fixture at the Euros for the first time ever thanks to Raheem Sterling's second-half goal against Croatia.
Boasting one of the best squads at the 2020 Euros, maybe behind only France, many believe that it’s finally time for England to shine at a European Championship. With one of the country’s most talented crop of players in a long time, the blend of youth and experience will prove key for the Three Lions and it has seen many dub them as the favourites to lift the trophy. However, that plays a lot on their performance since the 2018 World Cup but England’s win over Croatia showed what they could do.
Gareth Southgate's side overcame the nation that knocked them out of the 2018 World Cup at the semi-final stage and managed to sneak away with a 1-0 win. That was seen Wayne Rooney admit that he believes it will be the perfect opportunity for England to push forward with this same momentum and continue their positive start to the campaign. The England legend also added that while there is a lot of quality in the team, what really lacks is the experience and that could prove key in the knockout stages..
"It was a good positive start, a solid professional performance. With the heat it was never going to be an end-to-end game, it was always going to be a game of moments. To win that was massive, Croatia is a good team and it will give the players a relief that they are comfortable in the group now. They'll be a bit more relaxed going into the game against Scotland and if they didn't win they could have been a bit anxious," Rooney said, reported by Goal.
“Scotland will be tough but after winning the game against Croatia I think England will comfortably go through to the next round. That's when I think it could get difficult for England when you come up against France, Portugal or Belgium one of those top teams.
“There's a lot of quality in the squad, my only worry is a lack of experience - it's important Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson get fit because they will be vital moving forward. Quality-wise they have as much as anyone in the competition and they have a great chance," he added.
