It emerged yesterday that Rooney made his World Cup debut in Nuremberg only after he and Eriksson had both insisted on it, forcing Brian Barwick, the FA’s beleaguered chief executive, to back down. Barwick, intimidated by the threat of legal action from United in the event of the £27m man suffering a recurrence of his metatarsal fracture, was against Rooney playing and relented only after a heated exchange with Eriksson, who had promised his potential match-winner a runout as substitute as long ago as last Monday.
When the coach subsequently told Rooney that he might not be allowed to play after all, the striker is said to have exploded with rage, persuading Eriksson to confront Barwick over the issue.
Although he was playing against his club’s wishes, Rooney’s introduction after 58 minutes had such a galvanising effect that Eriksson has now decided he cannot afford to do without him. “We are a better team with Rooney, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “He links the play better than anybody else.” If England avoid defeat against Sweden and top Group B, they will be rewarded with more rest between games as the tournament progresses.
The intention is to omit Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard, both of whom were given yellow cards during the first two games and would be suspended for the next round if they were booked on Tuesday. Rooney will come in up front, with either Michael Carrick or Owen Hargreaves taking over from Gerrard in midfield.
In yesterday’s games, Portugal beat Iran 2-0 courtesy of a brilliant Deco shot and a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty, while Ghana stunned the Czech Republic 2-0 with goals from Asamoah Gyan and Sulley Muntari. Italy drew 1-1 with the USA.