Wayne Rooney believes England’s defence could cost them dearly at Euro 2024 this summer.
Gareth Southgate faces major headaches in defence with Harry Maguire missing the tournament through injury, while John Stones was also brought off as a precaution in their 1-0 defeat to Iceland on Friday evening.
The match at Wembley was a disappointing way for the Three Lions to end their Euro 2024 warm-up schedule, with the squad now heading to Germany ahead of their group opener against Serbia a week on Sunday.
Should Stones not be fit enough to feature in Gelsenkirchen, that would leave Southgate with Marc Guehi, Joe Gomez, Lewis Dunk and Ezri Konsa as his only centre-back options, with just 36 caps between the four of them.
England managed just one shot on target against an Iceland side ranked 72nd in the world, while some defensive lapses allowed the visitors four shots on target, including Jon Thorsteinsson’s 12th-minute opener.
Rooney backs England but worries about defence
Speaking to Channel 4 after Friday’s defeat, former England striker Rooney was still bullish about their chances in Germany this summer, but conceded their backline could cost them.
“It’s a very exciting squad, they’ve certainly got the players and the firepower,” said Rooney.
“I hope the backline is strong, that’s my only concern. But I think we’ve got more than enough to go and take teams head on and if we do that we’ve got a great chance.”
Rooney also urged the England players to ‘learn’ from Friday’s defeat, especially when it comes to upping the tempo with the ball.
“England didn’t move the ball quickly enough from side to side to get players like Anthony Gordon one-v-one enough,” he added. “The result is not the most important thing tonight, it’s about players getting experience. They have to learn from tonight’s game.
