Rooney minute by minute

4 mins: A quick pass into the right side of the Ecuador area from Frank Lampard almost gives the England striker a shooting chance, but the ball runs out of play.

14: Takes on Geovanny Espinoza on the right, and nearly forces his way clear into the box, but the ball cannons off the Manchester United striker and behind for a goal-kick.

15: Tries a delicate chip from the edge of the area but not enough height or weight to trouble Ecuador keeper Cristian Mora.

38: Rooney is forced to drop deep to pick up possession and start another England attack, which comes to nothing.

41: Hurtado gifts Rooney possession just outside the penalty area. The striker attempts to slip Steven Gerrard clear into the right side of the box, but Espinoza handles the ball during his sliding challenge - which is missed by Belgian referee Frank De Bleeckere.

42: Confronts the assistant referee after being adjudged to have fouled Hurtado as the pair chased a long ball from David Beckham.

57: Attempts to barge his way through a pair of Ecuador defenders into the penalty area, and is called up correctly for the foul.

70: Lampard's centre is just too far ahead of the advancing United striker as England, now 1-0 up, play their best football of the match.

73: Rooney produces a brilliant bit of skill to nutmeg Hurtado on the left by-line, before cutting inside and pulling the ball back for Lampard - who blazes his shoot high over the crossbar.

76: Collects a long pass forwards and charges towards the right side of the penalty area, where his shot is deflected and Mora has to make a smart low save.

81: Turns Hurtado inside out again, and this time his cutback towards Lampard in the six-yard box is cut out by the Ecuador keeper at full stretch.

England to quarter finals

David Beckham's superb free kick may have taken England through to the World Cup quarter finals, yet that was the only positive to come from a disappointing 1-0 win over Ecuador at Stuttgart's Gottlieb-Daimler stadion.Against a background of supporter riots in the lead up, England came out carrying the expectation they would atone for some underwhelming performances so far.On the other hand, Ecuador's unheralded team may have nervously entered the fray, yet, from the beginning, they took it to England and probably should have taken the lead during the first period when Ashley Cole managed to deflect Carlos Tenorio's shot onto the bar.Yet, after its most disappointing half so far, the Three Lions hit back on the hour when Beckham's exquisite free kick curled into goal.

The result takes England through to a quarter final clash with Portugal, yet some serious questions hang over the Three Lions and their now infamous manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.Going into the match, injuries to Michael Owen and Gary Neville had forced Eriksson to re-jig his side from its usual 4-4-2 formation to a 4-1-4-1.

England was further hampered by its poor possession and by Wayne Rooney operating as a lone striker, with the Manchester United man receiving some terrible service and looking uncomfortable without a forward partner.With Rooney, thereby unable to make his incisive runs, Ecuador's Ivan Hurtado came into his own, with the Tricolor skipper setting up his country's attacks.

There was still a couple of nervous moments for England as Paul Robinson was forced to dive full stretch to save a Luis Valencia effort, yet as Ecuador ran forward in an attempt to score, gaps opened up in its defence and for some brief moments England demonstrated its potential.Rooney, who played a full match, was suddenly finding his way through the backline with ease before setting up Frank Lampard twice.Lampard, who also had a poor day, may have missed his efforts, yet it could be a sign of things to come for English supporters who appear to be tiring of Eriksson's increasingly hollow reassurance that, 'We can play better'.

England look to Rooney against Ecuador

England will pin their World Cup hopes on some Wayne Rooney magic when they face Ecuador in Sunday's second round in Stuttgart.
Despite wins over Paraguay and Trinidad & Tobago, and a 2-2 draw with Sweden, England failed to show their real potential in a mediocre Group B campaign.
Rooney, who played 32 minutes against the Soca Warriors after breaking a bone in his foot in April and a further 69 against Sweden, has only given glimpses of his true ability.
With striker Michael Owen at home with a ruptured cruciate ligament and the knockout phase upon them, England need their best player to come good in a game that really counts.
Rooney has shown part of his repertoire with some nice passing and link-up play with the midfielders, but there has been little sign of his surging runs at defenders.
Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson will hope to have the 20-year-old in even better shape by Sunday as he prepares to pair him with Peter Crouch.
Eriksson could also do with midfielder Frank Lampard re-discovering his scoring boots. Having hit 20 for Chelsea last season and 10 for England in his previous 22 games, Lampard came to Germany as a proven marksman.

Ad shows painted, popular Rooney

Rooney, recovering from a broken bone in his right foot, missed England's opening match in the World Cup, but came on as a substitute to inspire the team to a 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday.
The Daily Star, one of three British papers paid to run the Nike ad, continued its long-standing tradition of printing photos of bare-breasted women on page 3 Tuesday, but they were upstaged by the two-page centerfold of the Rooney ad with Nike's slogan, "Just do it."
The ad, which also appeared on a 20-by-30 meter (66-by-99 foot) billboard in London alongside the M4 highway at midnight, shows Rooney cheering with his arms outstretched, as if he had just scored a goal.
A vertical line of red paint runs from his face to his belly button, and a horizontal one runs across his chest, from one outstretched arm and clenched fist to another.
The Independent newspaper carried a full-page photo and analysis of the Rooney billboard, calling it "as provocative a statement as the sports shoe manufacturer has produced."
The paper said, "It's the most graphic use of blood in an ad since Benetton's newborn baby" and suggested that the image "plays on the crucifixion."
But Caroline Small, a Nike spokeswoman in London, told The Associated Press that the ad was not intended to have religious connotations.

"Absolutely not. It's just a celebration of Wayne and the unique way he celebrates when he scores a goal, with his arms outstretched and his fists clenched. That suggested England's flag to us. It's not intended to have religious connotations at all," she said.
Small said the company has received no complaints about the ad, just telephone calls from fans who want copies of it.
Rooney, 20, who made his international debut in 2003, is the most exciting English football player to emerge for years, and the Manchester United star now competes with his world famous teammate David Beckham for the honor of being England's No. 1 player.

Rooney is ready and waiting for Swedish sqaud

The single crime of which England could not be convicted on Thursday was taking the opposition lightly. Anyone who supposes that Sven-Goran Eriksson kept Peter Crouch on the field because he guessed that the Liverpool striker would eventually get the opening goal against Trinidad & Tobago is mistaken. The managerial logic had followed a darker path when it was decided that Michael Owen be substituted instead.

Rooney could start against Sweden on Tuesday. "It's tempting," conceded Eriksson, who has a desire to see England beat his countrymen for the first time in 38 years. He will not give Crouch, Gerrard nor Lampard the evening off, though they are all one caution short of a suspension, having picked up yellow cards.
The disciplinary records are expected to be wiped clean after the group phase for those who do not have a ban to serve, but although England are already qualified for the last 16 they cannot afford to coast through any match. With Rooney short of peak condition, the remaining members of the squad must learn to bear the weight of their own ambitions.

Guess who's back?

Finally back form a broken foot, rooney played the last 32 minutes of England's 2-0 World Cup victory over Trinidad and Tobago. He didn't score or make any contribution to the late goals by Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard that guaranteed England a place in the second round.

Rooney's first World Cup appearance lifted the confidence of the players and transformed England from a team of fumblers to a side that might get close to winning the title. Against a team of journeyman players, England failed to illustrate the huge gulf in ability.

When Rooney did enter the game, there was always danger when England attacked. He used his speed to chase through balls and ran at defenders, always threatening to shoot.
While Trinidad surrounded him with three markers, that left far more room for his team-mates to set up chances.

The fans tried to persuade coach Sven-Goran Eriksson with chants of "Rooney, Rooney." There had been daily speculation in the British papers whether the foot he broke against Chelsea on April 29 had healed enough to withstand tackles and his powerful shooting.
While the team warmed up on the field by jogging up and down, he couldn't resist breaking off and thumping the ball with his damaged right foot powerfully into the net. While the starting 11 kicked a ball around on the other side of the field, Rooney was pounding 35m passes across the field. As his team-mates left the field to get ready for kickoff, he stayed on to hammer shots from outside the box toward goal.
Rooney was saying: "I'm ready."

Now, Rooney is the man England must now turn to if World Cup glory is to return to the nation credited with inventing the game.
The return of Wayne Rooney sparks England recovery, sending them into 2nd round

Ready to fly!

Rooney will fly out to Germany with the rest of the squad on Monday before returning to Manchester 48 hours later to undergo the scan which will probably determine if he is fit enough for the finals.England coach Steve McClaren - who serves under manager Sven-Goran Eriksson this summer before taking full charge - declared it an encouraging sight to have Rooney back in light training."He has been working with the United physios all this week," McClaren said on Sky Sports News. "He's stepping things up, joining us on (the flight to Germany on) Monday and having the relevant scans, so things are progressing well."Of course, you never take things for granted in football and with the metatarsal especially. Hopefully the scans will be okay but you've seen the progress he's making. He's a confident lad and he wants to be there and he'll be doing everything possible to be there."While the news was encouraging about Rooney, the picture in the short term was less optimistic regarding full-back Gary Neville, although by no means is he doubtful for the World Cup.Neville was absent from training for the second day running with the hamstring injury sustained during the 3-1 victory over Hungary at Old Trafford on Tuesday.It is understood the injury needs a few more days to settle down and it will be a surprise if the 31-year-old is risked against the Jamaicans.But there is no serious concern about Neville being unavailable for the opening World Cup game with Paraguay on June 10.

Rooney up and running

Wayne Rooney has taken the first steps down the long road to proving his fitness for the World Cup finals.The Manchester United striker was spotted taking part in running, turning and ball work at Carrington ahead of England's final training session before tomorrow's clash with Jamaica at Old Trafford.Rooney was accompanied in his workout by two members of United's backroom staff and the session was halted once members of the media were allowed in to film the official training session.The fact Rooney is able to undertake such exercises will be a boost to Sven-Goran Eriksson before he has another scan on June 7.The 20-year-old has been sidelined since April 29, when he suffered a broken metatarsal injury to his right foot in United's 3-0 defeat at Chelsea.