It has been ten years since Wayne Rooney scored his unforgettable goal against Arsenal for Everton at aged just 16. The sensational strike revealed that the youngster was a future star in the making. However, the England international is still as hungry as ever to impress and has announced that he wants to play in England’s friendly next month against Sweden.

Rooney’s international performances have been criticised, and the 26-year-old failed to make an impact against Poland on Wednesday, despite getting on the scoresheet with a fortunate goal from a Steven Gerrard corner kick. The Manchester United forward has often been injured in the build-up to international tournaments which hasn’t helped his cause.

Roy Hodgson will undoubtedly be under pressure to rest his first team and give less experienced Premier League players a run-out. However, Rooney has insisted, “of course I want to play.

"I want to play all the games, if that’s possible. Hopefully I can stay in good form and the manager will pick me."

Hodgson is expected to field younger players, such as Arsenal’s Carl Jenkinson and Liverpool’s Jonjo Shelvey, however the England manager has stated he will keep some key players.

“We have to be careful. I don’t intend to go to Stockholm with a weak team. It is a massive occasion for Sweden — and they like me over there, or they used to!

“I’m also conscious that a lot of players will be in the middle of European football as well, and I don’t know how much I can bash them,” added Hodgson.

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