Reasons why Wayne Rooney can finally shine at the World Cup

Wayne Rooney’s odds to win the World Cup’s Golden Boot are a quite a hefty 40/1 considering the global reputation the Manchester United striker carries.

However, when you consider that he’s never scored a goal on the highest international stage and has basically gone incognito at every major tournament since Euro 2004, then odds that make him the joint-ninth favourite to win the accolade seem completely fair.

Taking such a dire record into account, you’d think that Rooney wouldn’t be the favourite to top England’s charts, yet his odds of 5/2 on that front put him at the head of the betting.

With 21 league goals in the campaign, Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge can count himself desperately unlucky not to receive the tag given he’s the in-form Englishman in front of goal, but there are reasons to believe that this is the year that Rooney finally comes good.

The biggest revolves around the composition of Roy Hodgson’s squad. For the first time since Rooney’s first involvement in an English major tournament squad – the breakthrough Euros in Portugal – this 23-man touring party has a youthful look about it.

As a result, no one is talking about Rooney being the only hope of England’s progression, like normal, because all the focus is on the youth. The pressure is now off (although arguably this article puts it back on) allowing Rooney to operate freely.

At 28-years-old, this is also the striker’s last chance to dominate a World Cup in his prime, as he’s far less likely to do in 2018 at the age of 32.

While carrying a knock ahead of the tournament is an obvious setback, the two trainers he’s taken on holiday with him ahead of its kick off will only boost his chances of being fully-fit come the Italy came.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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