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Rooney fails to end goal drought

Talisman Wayne Rooney’s goal drought stretched on as England crashed out of the FIFA World Cup™ at the hands of old rivals Germany on Sunday. Drawing a blank in the match in Bloemfontein means the Manchester United star, after a stellar season for his club, has still never found the net at a FIFA World Cup.

He came to South Africa billed as one of the world’s top players along with the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo but has now failed to net in eight finals matches – including against minnows Algeria and Slovenia.

England goalkeeper David James said Germany should take credit for nullifying Rooney. “You have to give credit to the opposition. The teams know how good he is and they did all they can to stop him from playing,” said James.

“He wasn’t given freedom and today there were times when he had to come deep in order to pick the ball up and I always say if he has to do that then he’s not getting the joy up front. Again that has to be credit towards the opposition in the way they nullified his offensive capabilities.”

Winning his 64th cap in the Free State stadium, Rooney struggled to make an impact early on, with his touch heavy as England failed to find a rhythm in front of thousands of fans who turned the game into virtual home match.

Minutes after Germany opened the scoring on 20 minutes through Miroslav Klose, Rooney lashed wide from outside the penalty box and Lukas Podolski soon doubled Germany’s lead before England pulled one back through Matthew Upson.

As the second half wore on Rooney began to exert more influence on the game, probing around the edge of the box. But England failed to find a second goal as Rooney’s influence once again faded, with his team-mates unable to put him in clear goalscoring positions. Germany scored twice more through Thomas Mueller to make it 4-1 and turn the evening into a disastrous occasion for England.

Rooney came into the match with 25 international goals but no goal for club or country since he scored for Manchester United in their UEFA Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich in March. Despite nine goals in nine FIFA World Cup qualifiers, he has not netted for England since scoring in the 5-1 win over Croatia in September 2009.

Rooney was a shadow of his marauding self in South Africa, cutting a frustrated figure as England laboured to qualify from their group. His problems even prompted club boss Sir Alex Ferguson to pick up the phone to call his star striker amid fears over the weight of expectation on his shoulders.

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1261553/index.html#rooney+fails+goal+drought

ARSHAVIN: RUSSIA CAN WIN 2018 WORLD CUP BIDDING

The captain of the Russian national team Andrey Arshavin is going to South Africa as member of the Russian delegation to represent our 2018/22 World Cup bid.

“The Russian Football Union contacted me and we prematurely agreed,” said the 29-year old forward. “The deal is only about one day – 10 June when our presentation is to take place.”

“But I do not know yet how it will happen in reality. So I cannot tell you the details of the forthcoming journey.”

“To my mind the possibility of our winning the right for World Cup is quite possible for Russia especially after France is to host the Euro-2016.”

“If we win the bidding it will be a very significant event for our country – first of all in terms of improving the football infrastructure, building of new stadiums.”

“After South Africa I am going to Saint Petersburg as the holidays are really long. And there I am to start preparing for the next season doing exercises.

“On 5 July Arsenal is to gather in London and we are to undergo medical on this day. On 6th we have our first training session and on 18 July – our first training camp in Austria.”

“At the moment I am on holidays and I am used to thinking fully about the current moment so I have not yet thought about the tasks and aims for the coming season.”

“As for the English season in whole I can say that I am happy for Yuriy Zhirkov who won the Premier League title. And I think that Chelsea deserved this trophy, as their team was the strongest concerning the squad and most stable during the season.”

“Actually all clubs where there are Russian representatives performed rather well – first, third and fourth places and even the eighth spot of Bilyaletdinov’s Everton is not bad taking into account their start.”

http://english.sport-express.ru/summary/1_5179/