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England's Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard - Source: Reuters -
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As a downtrodden England prepare to clash with Germany, it will be Wayne Rooney who proves key to his side coming out victorious.
After being installed as one of the pre-tournament favourites, it is safe to say that England have failed to impress.
From their hard fought opening draw with the USA, to their lacklustre display against Algeria, to their heart-in-mouth 1-0 win over Slovenia, Fabio Capello's Three Lions have stumbled around the pitch more like Three Blind Mice and have looked a shadow of the side who finished unbeaten and top of their World Cup qualification group just a few months ago.
England have been so badly disjointed during the group stages that a place in the last 16 of the tournament looked unlikely, and for a team that is made up of numerous high profile and highly paid stars, that would have been unthinkable.
As history tells us England don't do things easily, and the fact that they are now taking on fierce rivals Germany for a place in the quarter finals could even be good for Capello's side, because it is in the blood of the English that they turn it on - more often than not - when their backs are against the wall.
But England will have to do better and key to their success that will be the rebirth of Rooney.
There is no getting away from the fact that there is something terribly wrong with Wayne as the England striker has looked tired, uninspired and frustrated during England's opening three games.
There is speculation that Rooney may have failed to fully recover from the ankle injury sustained during Manchester United's Champions League clash against Bayern Munich that put paid to what had been a spectacular season for the Red Devils, that he is struggling to deal with living up to the pressure of his big name billing, or, with Capello stopping all Wags coming to South Africa, it could be the new father is missing the new addition to his family.
What ever the case may be, there is no better time for Rooney to get out of the funk that has seen him fail to score for England in their last eight games - and in doing so prove to the world just why he is hailed as one of the best strikers on the planet.
Rooney is well known for his ability to turn a game on its head, his passion and fire when on form is second to none, and although he has often gone missing in their last three games, against Slovenia you could see the hunger was returning.
After an uncharacteristic dry spell the writing seems to be on the wall that Rooney could about to hit top form, with England captain Steven Gerrard firing a warning to the Germans that they better watch out for the striking ace.
And while the time is now or never for Rooney to shine, he obviously can't do it on his own, and should Capello play Gerrard - who was desperately trying to land a ball at the feet of Rooney to help his fellow Scouser get of the mark in South Africa - in a more central midfield role this could help his cause.
A shaky defence could also help Rooney, and England as they come up against Germany in Bloemfontein tonight.
Joachim Loew's side may have done the business in sublime fashion against Australia in their opening match with a 4-0 thrashing of the Socceroos, but since then, Germany's youngest squad for 76-years, have meandered to 1-0 wins over Ghana and a defeat at the hands of Serbia in their final two group matches.
Germany have also had a set back with striker Cacau ruled out of the clash, while influential playmaker Bastian Schweinsteiger and Jerome Boatang are also in doubt, both of which will be a major blow for the Germans.
And if England need more inspiration to go out and beat their bitter rivals, they need only to look to the words of Germany icon Franz Beckenbauer who has been blasting England in the press saying: "I have never seen such a bad team. They seem to be tired - it's disappointing. Wayne Rooney was supposed to be a big attraction but he hasn't played well."
The best thing Rooney could do for England now is to let those very words ring round in his head, take all the criticism of the last few weeks, turn it into pure passion and fire and help set England alight and in doing so, show the world just what the Three Lions are really made of.
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