England will be going to the World Cup bearing a lot of pressure on the shoulders of the players. Or so says Gary Neville, one of the most experienced players in one of the, if not THE, best England teams of all times.

Unfortunately, Rooney’s injury doesn’t make things easier for the inventors of football. They didn’t win anything major since 1966, though they came agonizingly close in the last 3 tournaments, being eliminated at penalty shoot-outs.

“No excuses for anybody. Injuries, whatever happens to us, no excuses,” he told reporters at their Portugal training camp.

“We’ve talked about this being a tournament that England are going to do well in for six years now and — certainly since 2002 — that this group of players would be at their peak in 2006. So wherever we get this time is a measure of this team.

“No bad decisions, no missed penalty, no poor performance. They’re things you have to cope with…The make or break moments in this tournament we have to make our own.
ADVERTISEMENT

“And if we don’t, we’ll come home and we’ll be a nearly team. It’s as simple as that.”

More, Neville says that though Rooney’s presence will be missed, that should not affect their performance at the upcoming World Cup.

Source: Reuters, via yahoo