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SirStanleyBowles- 10-05-2008
Top Rooney display boosts England
Striker Wayne Rooney gave England coach Fabio Capello a fitness boost after coming through Manchester United's win against Blackburn unscathed. The England squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Belarus will be announced on Sunday. Rooney, who scored in United's 2-0 win, has recovered from an ankle injury. Capello is expected to have Michael Owen, left out last time because of a lack of fitness, watched in Newcastle's game at Everton on Sunday. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said on Friday that Rooney would join up with England with his blessing. The forward picked up the knock in Tuesday's Champions League win at Aalborg but was able to play 77 minutes against Rovers on Saturday before being substituted. Ferguson praised Rooney's display, which culminated in a classy goal in the 64th minute. He said: "That was his (Rooney's) best performance of the season for us." Rooney explained why his ankle has been troubling him. "It's been a bit weak for a couple of weeks and I've not trained as much as I'd like but I just need to be careful," said Rooney. With all 20 Premier League sides in action over the weekend - including six games on Sunday - coach Capello will be hoping for a clean bill of health. But Owen's hopes of returning to the squad remain in the balance, despite a record of five goals in seven Newcastle matches this season. "I saw him on TV," Capello said on Saturday. "He's fit enough but it is not a good moment for Newcastle. "Sometimes a lot of the results of the club for which a player plays are not good for the confidence. "I have to decide on 23 players. I do not decide out of sympathy or because I like or dislike players. I decide on who I think is the best player at the moment. "You can play better if all the team play well. There are three players at Tottenham who are interesting for us but it is not a good moment for them." He added: "It is not enough only to score goals. It is very important but sometimes one player has not played for 89 minutes and he scores a goal, it is not enough. "The goals are very important but it is not only the goals." England lead Group Six after victories in their opening two games of the campaign. It is only six weeks since Capello's side were booed off after the 2-2 friendly draw with the Czech Republic at Wembley and they laboured to a 2-0 World Cup win against Andorra in September. But the 4-1 win in Croatia, inspired by Theo Walcott's hat-trick, has seen the fans flock back for the game against Kazakhstan on 11 October. The game is a sell-out, with 90,000 fans expected at Wembley for England's last home game of the year. "After the game with Croatia I said the people will speak about the performance of Walcott," said Capello. "And all the people are waiting to see the same performance. "It is not possible. We have to treat Walcott like the other players, normal players. "Sometimes he will have a fantastic performance, sometimes a normal performance, sometimes not a good performance and sometimes I will substitute him, like other players." Four days after they face Kazakhstan, England are in action away to Belarus in Minsk. "We now have six points and we have to play every game like a final," said Capello. "Against Kazakhstan and against Belarus - you must focus every game. "This is my philosophy, my vision of football. It is important to win but you have to focus for the next game, not on what we did (against Croatia)." On 19 November England play a friendly against Germany in Berlin, but they do not then have another game scheduled until the end of March.


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