The game, which will be aired live on Sky Sports, will give Rooney the chance to blow the cobwebs off and show the world he has forgotten his disastrous World Cup campaign.

Things just didn’t happen for Rooney and England in South Africa. Blame it on the ankle injury he picked towards the end of the season, fatigue, or just the weight of expectation, but Rooney wasn’t at the races at the finals.

The former Everton striker has yet to score at a World Cup finals and the closest he came was hitting the post in the 1-0 win over Slovenia – England’s only win in the 2010 competition.

Commenting on Rooney’s below par performance, Sir Alex Ferguson said: “I think there was such expectation on him. There was talk he was going to be the player of the tournament.

“Don’t forget, that was the prelude to the whole thing – he was going to be the star, he was going to outshine them all – (Lionel) Messi, (Cristiano) Ronaldo. So that level of expectation comes into it.”

Ferguson undoubtedly blames Rooney’s poor form on having the weight of a nation on his shoulders, but a comforting word or two from the United boss should do the trick.

Suggestions that Rooney’s confidence has been knocked will prove unfounded, Ferguson will make sure the striker is in the right frame of mind when the season kicks off next month and another season filled with goals is likely.

Should Fabio Capello shoulder the blame, or do England’s underachieving stars have to take it on the chin?

It’s a difficult question, but surely both parties should take a share of the responsibility?

Considering England are ranked eight by FIFA, they should have been nailed-on quarter-finalists at the tournament. But the Three Lions fell well short of that losing 4-1 in the round of 16 to a youthful German side. A last-eight defeat to Argentina would have been more readily accepted, but a thumping reverse to Germany – in a game England failed to shine in – simply wasn’t good enough.

Capello has to take the majority of the blame. It was the Italian who stuck rigidly to a 4-4-2 and failed to employ a plan B when things failed to click into gear in the group stages.

He had plenty of opportunity to switch tactics after miserable group showings, especially the 0-0 draw with Algeria. Admittedly, if it wasn’t for Rob Green’s mistake England would have edged past the USA, but things needed shaking up despite the 1-0 success over Slovenia in the final group clash.

The manager knew how Germany would line up with Joachim Loew’s emphasis on midfield possession and sharp movement, but still he went with two central midfielders and we were torn to pieces.

Still for all Capello’s lack of guile, the players he fielded should have applied themselves. They seem incapable of gelling into a team and remain a bunch of talented individuals, unable to work together at the highest level.

Oscar Tabarez’s men were the last team to qualify for the finals, but booked their place in the last eight after a piece of magic from Luis Suarez.

Suarez clipped Uruguay ahead early on and from there on in the workmanlike South Americans seemed happy to sit back and settle for a 1-0 win.

It didn’t make for a great spectacle, but South Korea huffed and puffed and finally got the breakthrough capitalising on an uncharacteristic piece of poor defending.

The Asian outfit had their tails up, but Suarez, who now has three goals in the race for the Golden Boot, conjured up a piece of magic of the sort that has been lacking at the World Cup so far.

The Ajax marksman curled a beauty of strike into the corner of the net after picking up the ball on the edge of the area to light up a pretty dour contest.

Whether Tabarez’s men can go any further, they face a quarter-final with Ghana, depends on their mentality.

As the tournament progresses it will prove more difficult to shut up shop and they may have to be more adventurous. They are 12/1 shots to go all the way and add to their two World Cup triumphs. If Suarez and Diego Forlan can stay in form they have a real chance of pulling off something special.

The Kaiser, who slammed England earlier in the tournament, has taken another swipe at the Three Lions after their crucial 1-0 win over Slovenia on Wednesday.

The victory earned England second place in Group C, after USA’s late winner saw them through as group winners, and Capello’s men will now meet old rivals Germany in the round of 16.

It’s a clash both sides would have preferred to avoid until the latter stages of the World Cup, but Capello won’t need to rouse his troops after Beckenbauer’s latest outburst.

“Stupidly, the English have slipped up a little by finishing second in their group,” Beckenbauer said.

Adding: “The English look a little tired.”

It’s the sort of trash talk that will have England licking their lips and leave Germany coach Joachim Loew with his head in his hands.

Germany started their tournament with a thumping 4-0 win over 10-man Australia, butwere then beaten by Serbia after having a man sent off before narrowly edging out Ghana 1-0.

They have certainly lost momentum after their opening game when they showed a fluid passing style and a repeat of that performance against England will give Capello’s men problems.

But they haven’t been as impressive since, while England look to be building in confidence.

After a nervous start to the tournament England eventually found their feet against Slovenia and should have recorded a bigger victory than the 1-0 result.

It promises to be a tight encounter in Bloemfontein on Sunday afternoon with the winners likely to face Argentina in the last eight.

Morten Olsen’s men were more than holding their own against the well-fancied Dutch before a moment of madness from Simon Poulsen handed them the opening goal.

Poulsen’s header hit Daniel Agger and flew past Thomas Sorensen to hand Holland the lead and Dirk Kuyt wrapped up the win late on as Denmark threw caution to the wind.

However, all is not lost for the Danes, who should be backed at 2.54 to reach the second round. They showed plenty of encouraging signs, especially in the first half, and Nicklas Bendtner and Thomas Kahlenberg both had chances against a strong Holland defence.

Group E rivals Japan opened their tournament with a 1-0 win over a disappointing Cameroon side – Denmark’s next opponents in Pretoria.

Paul Le Guen’s African giants looked poor against a hard-working Japan side and even with Samuel Eto’o in the ranks they could not exert any real pressure on Japan until the final moments.

Olsen’s men will be fancied to chalk up a win against Cameroon with Holland expected to see off Japan in their second group game.

That should set up a final group decider between Denmark and Japan, who are currently as short as 2.14 to qualify for the latter stages.

The Danes would surely go into the Rustenburg clash as favourites, yet they are still currently a bigger price than the Japanese to make round two.

In the warm-up against England and in their opening 1-0 win over Cameroon the Japanese looked an outfit with limitations. They were very defensive minded against Cameroon, and Denmark are sure to give them more to think about that the lethargic Africans.

Back then the announcement of a 30-man squad, to be trimmed to 23, gave fringe players a chance to impress the Italian and squeeze their way into the World Cup squad at the last minute.

But after the shaky 2-1 win over Japan, courtesy of two own goals, Capello admitted no-one had forced him to change his mind and he had settled on the same 23 names he had chosen a fortnight ago.

The fact that Michael Dawson, Scott Parker, Matthew Upson and Stephen Warnock didn’t even play in either game, while Adam Johnson barely got five minutes suggests Capello had made his mind up regarding their summer travel plans during training sessions. Tom Huddlestone on the other hand needed to produce something special in his 45 minute cameo against the Japanese to turn Capello away from Gareth Barry, whose recovery from an ankle injury means he is assured a place in the final 23.

Elsewhere Darren Bent will almost certainly miss out after another quiet performance and Shaun Wright Phillips may also be nervously awaiting a phone call on Tuesday. They weren’t alone in being below par in Graz at the weekend, but unlike Frank Lampard, John Terry and Rio, whose main event starts next month, this was their last chance to shine.

So with the back-up players failing to convince is it a surprise that those assured of a seat on the plane failed to sparkle? After all, the last thing they want is an injury to scupper their World Cup dreams a matter of days before the tournament begins. A team full of below par reserves and first teamers avoiding injury should perhaps expected to stutter.

Capello knows his strongest side which is why he hasn’t named it in the past two games. This was bonus time, to see if someone could emerge from the shadows and give Capello an extra headache as he heads for Africa.
Sadly this didn’t happen so we can only hope Capello’s plan A is more successful as the side look for glory in South Africa.

Speaking after the 2-1 win over Japan, Capello revealed he will decide on the day who will keep goal in England’s World Cup opener. It is a controversial move and some people have suggested that Capello’s keeper conundrum could be unsettling for the team, but it could have a beneficial effect.

Rob Green was impressive in the win over Mexico, while David James started in the win over Japan and those two were thought to be fighting for the number one shirt, but Joe Hart was in excellent form after replacing James at half-time.

The Manchester City stopper made a hat-trick of good saves, and following his performance the bookies cut his odds of starting the opener on June 12th. However, Hart may have to settle for a place on the bench, but make no mistake by the time the next World Cup comes around he will be the undisputed number one. He has had a consistent season this time around and his potential is huge and England’s goalkeeping position for the future is in safe hands.

But with regards next month’s tournament the Hart, James and Green might just drive one and other on to greater things. Whoever gets the nod in Rustenburg will be determined to hang on to the number one spot and one false move will probably result in them being dropped.

The competition is as fierce as it has ever been in an England squad, and with all three keepers seemingly on top of their games the standard promises to be high and, with the prospect of penalties on the agenda, Capello could do with an in form keeper.

But, unfortunately, the England players seemed to lose the script and they now return to their Austrian training base clouded in uncertainty.

However, Capello’s decision to name a larger preliminary squad looks a wise one, as the looming shadow of a like-for-like replacement on the bench keeps every starting player on their toes. The World cup betting odds make England third favourites, and they can’t afford to carry deadwood.

The defence again looked shaky, with Ledley King and Leighton Baines unconvincing in their deputy roles behind John Terry and Ashley Cole. This means that all of sudden Michael Dawson and Stephen Warnock – most people’s tips to be left behind – can suddenly see a place on the plane opening up.

Both will be monitored in training this week and the Japan friendly could offer them a chance to shine as the intensity inevitably nudges up a notch as the big day approaches. The match odds suggest England should win the game comfortably, but the players will know there is more at stake than the result.

In midfield Michael Carrick may have played his way out of the squad with a shaky display. Capello’s insistence on giving Gareth Barry as much time as possible to recover from an ankle injury shows the faith he has in the City midfielder and also shows to Scott Parker and Tom Huddlestone that they are fighting for a place on the bench in South Africa.

On the wings we have the pacy trio of Walcott, Johnson and Lennon, all players with similar skill sets. Who Capello takes is anyone’s guess, but two into three won’t go so it looks set to be a fascinating battle between the trio as they bid for a spot in the final 23.

Upfront, Peter Crouch’s uncanny ability to hit the net in an England shirt puts the pressure right back on Emile Heskey, whose physical presence alone has kept him in the starting line up in recent years. However, his lack of a goal threat means he needs a big performance against Japan if he is to secure a starting berth against the USA.

So although much of the reaction from Monday’s game was negative, it’s important to consider how much more you learn from a bad performance than you do from a good one. I would much rather see England make mistakes now than in a month’s time.

Rajevac only met with the majority of his 30-man squad in Paris on Sunday, and with their opening Group D game against Serbia on June 13th less than three weeks away, the Africans look short of time.

Twenty members of the team left Accra on Sunday for their French training camp and were joined by the remaining ten European-based players – including Chelsea’s Michael Essien and Portsmouth’s Kevin-Prince Boateng later in the week.

Rajevac also has several injuries to key players to contend with. Essien’s fitness remains in doubt after he missed the majority of the season with a knee injury. John Mensah is also a big concern, while Stephen Appiah, John Paintsil and Laryea Kingston have only just returned from injury.

But as well as all those problems, the African nation will also have to negotiate their way past group favourites Germany, as well as Serbia and Australia. In fact, in terms of FIFA rankings, Group D is the toughest in the competition.

The focus has been on Group G as ‘the group of death’ with Ivory Coast, Brazil, Portugal and North Korea, but Group D looks equally tough with only Germany looking assured of place in the second round.
Australia might lack technical ability but they will prove to be resilient, while Serbia have some talented players and could well make it through alongside Germany – leaving Ghana all set for an early exit from the tournament.

After 10 months out through injury the 27-year-old is desperate to get himself back in the international squad and make the World Cup finals.

The centre-back damaged cruciate knee ligaments against Manchester City in April 2009, but before that he was very much part of Capello’s plans. Now, after returning for the Toffees at the end of February, the former Sheffield United man is fit for an England recall.

Rio Ferdinand and John Terry will be Capello’s first-choice centre-back pairing at the World Cup, but Jagielka would be a more than able deputy.

He certainly has all the credentials of an international-class defender. Although he is not blessed with electric pace, he is mobile, his positional sense is good and he is composed.

Joleon Lescott, Matt Upson, Wes Brown and Ryan Shawcross will all be hoping to make Capello’s 23-man squad, but Jagielka seems a better option than all of those contenders.

Upson lacks a yard of pace to be effective at the top level and the prospect of Lionel Messi running at the West Ham centre-back is a frightening one.

Brown can be erratic and often gets pulled out of position, while Shawcross lacks top-level experience and his time will probably come in the future.

Jagielka certainly fits the bill and if he can impress sufficiently in the closing weeks of the season then I see no reason why he shouldn’t add to his three caps in South Africa.