Eriksson: Rooney ‘fantastic’

England 2 Denmark 3

Rooney and Cole were both on target for England during an exciting opening burst, only for Denmark to equalise on both occasions through Martin Jorgensen.

Rooney also struck the post before Jon Dahl Tomasson capitalised on a handling error by substitute keeper Paul Robinson to inflict England’s first defeat in nine months with seven minutes left.

While Eriksson was left concerned about his side’s defensive susceptibility, the Everton striker was clearly England’s most potent force in the absence of Michael Owen with his third goal in six starts.

The England coach declared: “Wayne Rooney’s not only a big talent, he’s already a fantastic player. Of course, he can be even better and learn even more, but he is already very mature for his age as a footballer. He was clever out there, and his first touch was incredible.

“He scored a very nice goal, set up another and hit the post. You can’t ask much more than that from a boy of 18. I’m very happy that we have a striker and a talent like that in England.”

While Eriksson was also impressed with much of Cole’s attacking adventure, he was still concerned at the midfielder’s tendency to over-elaborate and lose possession in key areas.

Indeed, while many of his colleagues failed to cover for him, it was the 22-year-old Chelsea midfielder who initially lost the ball before Denmark broke away for their first equaliser.

Eriksson added: “There were a lot of good qualities out there, and Joe Cole was one of them. He is another great talent, he is becoming better and better and his quality is incredible.

“But he has still to learn things about the game, the same as Glen Johnson. I don’t think you can expect young players to know everything on the pitch yet. These friendlies are good for those players as you learn more quickly.

“You learn that if you make a mistake in international football against a team like Denmark, then you pay for it, and that’s what we did. But it’s better to pay for it in a friendly and give a chance to those young players. That’s the right way to do it.”

Asked if his role in the build-up to the first goal was exactly the kind of lesson that Cole needs to learn, Eriksson added: “Yes, but you learn when you are young, and he’s a big talent.”

It was in defence that England suffered most, with Sol Campbell and Rio Ferdinand missing, along with Jonathan Woodgate and Gareth Southgate. Indeed, not only was Jorgensen not marked for his first goal, but Matthew Upson then brought down Daniel Jensen to concede the penalty for Jorgensen’s second.

“Defensively, we were not as good as we’ve been in the past and must learn from that. But I’m sure that when we come to Portugal, we will not defend like we did today,” declared Eriksson.

“In international football, you have to defend properly. If you give the opponents the chance to counter-attack, then they use it very well. Denmark have a lot of pace everywhere, and they are extremely good on the counter-attack. If they find some space, then they kill you.”

England lacked any cohesiveness in the final 20 minutes, although this was partly due to the rash of substitutions, with not only Johnson, but also Scott Parker, making their England debuts.

“You can’t expect the team in the last 20 minutes to be that organised, as they had never played together before,” insisted Eriksson.

Denmark coach Morten Olsen, meanwhile, insisted keeper David James was fortunate not to be sent off for bringing down Dennis Rommedahl just outside the penalty area.

“There must have been new rules in this game or David James would have got a red card,” he declared.

“But that is okay, it would have been a pity for someone to be sent off in a friendly.”

Olsen added: “We made some big mistakes in going 1-0 and then 2-1 down, but we came back well and scored some good goals.”

ENGLAND: James (Robinson 45), Gary Neville (Johnson 16), Terry, Upson, Ashley Cole (Bridge 45), Beckham (Jenas 65), Butt (Phil Neville 45), Lampard, Joe Cole (Murphy 75), Heskey (Beattie 45), Rooney (Parker 65).

DENMARK: Sorensen, Helveg (Priske 45), Henriksen, Nielsen (Gaardsoe 70), Niclas Jensen, Gronkjaer (Lovenkrands 62), Wieghorst (Daniel Jensen 28), Gravesen, Jorgensen (Madsen 84), Rommedahl (Perez 19), Sand (Tomasson 45).

Referee: V Hrinak (Slovakia).