Wayne Rooney has issued a public apology to supporters after England’s exit from the World Cup after just two group games. The England striker said he was “devastated” that the team had failed to qualify for the knockout stages.
Writing on his Facebook page, the Manchester United forward said: “Absolutely devastated to be out of the World Cup. Going into each game we had great belief in ourselves but unfortunately it hasn’t worked out. Sorry to all the fans that travelled and at home that we haven’t done better … gutted!”
The 27-year-old, who scored his first-ever goal in a World Cup finals during England’s 2-1 defeat to Uruguay, posted the message after Costa Rica’s surprise 1-0 win over Italy confirmed their exit.
The former Germany captain, Michael Ballack, has come out in support of Rooney, saying that suggestions that he should be dropped before the tournament were “crazy”.
“For me the only player who looked like making a difference for England was Rooney. He is the only one who can hurt teams, and the only one who is really world-class,” he told the Times. “Some people are saying he should be dropped, which is crazy.
“Despite all these problems England look better than they did two years ago and Roy Hodgson should build his team around Rooney and tell them to do everything they can to play for him.”
The former England manager Graham Taylor said Hodgson was on the right track and the Football Association is right to support him: “We wanted to see the young players and there is hope amongst that, there is no doubt about that. I honestly do believe that the media, in terms of Roy giving these youngsters a chance, were behind that, and I just hope that we stick at this development and letting the young players develop on the international scene.
“I think there is some future here in the English young players that we have seen.”