Rooney excited to see what 'fearless' England are capable of

Wayne Rooney will make his final farewell as England's greatest ever goalscorer in a friendly against the United States on Thursday, but is excited at what a young squad can achieve under "fearless" coach Gareth Southgate in the years to come.

Rooney, 33, made the last of his 119 international appearances midway through England's World Cup qualifying campaign two years ago.

In contrast to his prime when a "golden generation" disappointed at major tournaments and never made it beyond the quarter-finals, Southgate's charges surpassed expectations by making it to the semi-finals of a World Cup for the first time in 28 years in Russia.

"Fearless," said Rooney when asked what set Southgate apart from the other five England managers he played under.

"Because a lot of the other managers didn't really give the youth the opportunity to express themselves and come into the team and have an impact."
"I believed those players, maybe not in the World Cup but the one after that, would be good enough to have a go at it. They proved me wrong by doing so well in this World Cup."
- 'I'm excited' -
=================
"Having that makes you try too hard and makes you a bit too anxious, so you don't enjoy it as much as you should. You play your best football and best performances when you're enjoying playing and winning."