Wayne Rooney has named his England starting XI for Euro 2024 - no place for Trent (2024)

Wayne Rooney is one of the greatest English players of all time and the former Manchester United hero has had his say on who he believes should pull on the famous white shirt at Euro 2024. The Three Lions are gearing up towards their opening group game against Serbia and Gareth Southgate has some huge decisions to make.

The England manager has admitted it could be his final international tournament at the helm, and he will be determined to bow out on a positive note after coming so close to glory at World Cup 2018 and Euro 2020. With some previous favourites such as Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford left out of the 26-man squad making the journey to Germany, and Harry Maguire's absence through injury, there are one or two selection dilemmas for the boss.

Fans and pundits alike have been quick to name the 11 players they believe should be handed a starting berth for the competition's opener. Rooney is no different, as he gave his preferred line-up on Gary Neville's YouTube channel 'The Overlap'. The 38-year-old's starting team can be found below (Starts around 1.05.00):

Goalkeeper

Jordan Pickford

Jordan Pickford has been one of the most reliable players during Southgate's reign as England boss. The Everton star has put in many wonderful displays between the sticks for his country, proving the vast majority of his doubters wrong.

Rooney believes the number one is a vital part of the Three Lions' set-up and picked him ahead of Aaron Ramsdale and Dean Henderson. The former Toffees' forward stated: “He’s been brilliant in the previous tournaments. I think he’s just as important as Harry Kane. He has to play.” The 30-year-old kept five clean sheets in seven appearances during Euro 2020, only conceding two goals from open play.

Defenders

Kyle Walker, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Kieran Trippier

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While sharing the stage with his former teammate at club and international level, Gary Neville, Rooney made sure to jokingly state that Kyle Walker is: “England’s best right-back ever!” Whether or not he truly believes that, he was certain the Manchester City speed demon should be the starting option on the right-hand side of the back-line.

On the opposite wing, Southgate could have problems as the tournament progresses. Luke Shaw is the only natural left-back in the squad but the 28-year-old missed large parts of the 2023-24 campaign for Manchester United and faces a race against time to be fit for the opening game. This meant Rooney reluctantly picked Kieran Trippier to fill in for Shaw, despite saying:

The centre of the back-line is also set to cause a headache for the England manager. Harry Maguire has been ruled out through injury and won't be able to partner John Stones at the heart of the defence as expected. The latter is even a slight doubt for the first match, but Rooney still included him in the team.

He opted for Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace ahead of Ezri Konsa and Lewis Dunk to play alongside the Man City star. Hardly sounding confident at the prospect, the ex-striker admitted: “For form in the league, I’d play Guehi. I’d be worried, though.”

Midfielders

Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden

With his defence sorted, it was a slightly easier task for Rooney to name his midfield trio. Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham have been two of the best midfielders in world football over the past 12 months and everyone expects the duo to play as many minutes as possible in Germany, barring injury. The 38-year-old agreed with this sentiment but did decide he'd play Bellingham in a slightly different role than expected.

The 20-year-old featured prominently in Real Madrid's La Liga and Champions League double success in the 2023-24 season, operating as an attack-minded midfielder. Being the more advanced player in the middle of the park, the ex-Birmingham City youth prospect has staked his claim as a Ballon d'Or contender for 2024, but Rooney claimed: “I’d have Bellingham playing a little deeper."

This decision is to accommodate another extremely talented Englishman who is coming off the back of a wonderful term at club level. Phil Foden was named Premier League Player of the Season after playing a huge part in Man City's historic fourth consecutive title win. While he's versatile enough to play across the front line, Rooney chose to have the diminutive playmaker in an attacking midfield role ahead of Bellingham and Rice.

Some have speculated that Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold could step into the engine room for the tournament, but Rooney is firmly against that idea as he stated:

Forwards

Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, Anthony Gordon

As is the case with Rice and Bellingham, every England fan would be left scratching their head in disbelief if either Harry Kane or Bukayo Saka were left out of the team. Rooney was the country's top goalscorer of all time before his record was beaten by Kane in 2023 and there's no doubt in his mind that the Bayern Munich superstar is worthy of retaining his place in the team after a stellar debut campaign in Germany.

Meanwhile, Saka is the poster boy of the incredible project at Arsenal under Mikel Arteta. The right-winger has consistently provided goals and assists for club and country, and he's one of the first names on the teamsheet in the eyes of many.

The biggest question mark when it comes to the attack is who will occupy the left flank. Foden is largely expected to play on the wing to accommodate an additional midfielder, but Rooney went bold with his team and instead decided he'd like to see Anthony Gordon given the nod after an impressive season for Newcastle. He said:

All statistics in this article are courtesy of Transfermarkt (Correct as of 12/06/2024)