Wayne Rooney has named Trent Alexander-Arnold as one of the players he is most excited to watch at the World Cup in Qatar - and made a point about his Liverpool team-mate Jordan Henderson.
The World Cup gets under way on Sunday afternoon, UK time, when hosts Qatar take on Ecuador (4pm kick-off). Less than 24 hours later England get their tournament under way when they take on Iran on Monday (1pm kick-off).
Alexander-Arnold and Henderson are the two Liverpool players in Gareth Southgate's England squad and former Everton and Manchester United star Rooney has been speaking about them both in his latest column in The Times.
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When asked which players he is most excited to watch in Qatar, Rooney said: "I’m really intrigued to see what Gareth Southgate does with Trent Alexander-Arnold. Personally, I would start him. I think Harry Maguire will have another big tournament. He has performed better for England than he has for United — I think he would agree — and over the last couple of years United have struggled. He hasn’t had much protection and it is no coincidence that now there is more stability in the middle of the pitch with Casemiro, United’s defenders are playing better. With England, he has always had that protection."
United captain Maguire looks certain to start against Iran but whether Alexander-Arnold gets the nod over Newcastle United's Kieran Trippier remains to be seen. Liverpool skipper Henderson looks set to start on the bench with England boss Southgate expected to go with West Ham captain Declan Rice and Borussia Dortmund prodigy Jude Bellingham in the centre of the park.
Rooney was asked about Bellingham, who has been heavily linked with a move to Liverpool, and when discussing the 19-year-old, also brought up Henderson, who is 13 years his England team-mate's senior.
Of Bellingham, Rooney, now managing in the MLS with DC United, said: "He seems very level headed. I played against him for Derby against Birmingham in July 2020 when he had just turned 17. Pete Shuttleworth, my assistant at DC United, was at Birmingham.
"Their game-plan was for Jude to man-mark me. It was the one game we played with a back three under Phillip Cocu, so I played in a different position and that massively messed up their tactics. After I’d pass the ball, he’s coming in and leaving a foot in. It was brilliant — I loved it.
"I’ve watched a lot of his games and the first thing he does is that he works hard. That’s a mentality thing. I think he will be fine. He will not carry the same weight of expectation as a striker, who will be judged on how many they score. That said, we still need to be a bit careful with him. I’ve seen people say that he has to play every game. I still think someone like Jordan Henderson has a big part to play."
Rooney was also asked if there were any World Cup goals he wish he'd scored - and England record's goalscorer picked two by former Liverpool stars.
He said: "Michael Owen’s against Argentina in 1998. Even (Ray) Houghton’s for Ireland in 1994 (against Italy)."
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