Rooney keeps level head

Wayne Rooney dismissed his match-winning performance for England as if it were just another day at the office.

“I couldn’t miss really” was the description for his first goal in England’s 3-0 win against Switzerland while England’s second goal, a Rooney shot which bounced in off goalkeeper Jorg Stiel, was dismissed as “a bit lucky” by the Everton striker.

Meanwhile, the fact that he had become the youngest player at 18 years and 237 days to score in a European Championships finals was also brushed lightly aside with: “It’s always great to break a record”.

England were not just average for an hour against Switzerland, they were verging on dire.

No structure, little movement, barely a trace of invention, just nervous and withdrawn and so obviously suffering from the psychological scars inflicted by that dramatic injury-time defeat by France. A footballing basket-case in the making.

The diamond formation lasted all of five minutes, David Beckham was again a peripheral influence.

Michael Owen still looked out-of-sorts, Steven Gerrard too appeared affected by the speculation surrounding his future at Liverpool, Paul Scholes by the ankle injury he had battled all week.

It is not clear whether the presence of Rooney can paper over England’s deficiencies.

With their 2-2 draw against France last night Croatia, England’s opponents in Group B on Monday, proved they are a genuine goal threat. We could never say the same for Switzerland.

The Croatians, too, know they have to beat England to remain in the tournament and if Eriksson’s men play as poorly as they did in yesterday’s first-half that is a distinct possibility.