Speculation was mounting last night that England boss Roy Hodgson was going to keep faith with the strikers that won the game v Sweden on Friday and not recall Wayne Rooney, available after suspension.
Andy Carroll, substitute Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck were all on the score sheet as the Three Lions broke their Sweden bogey, beating them in a competitive match for a first time. The 3-2 win leaves England second in the group, knowing a draw against Ukraine will be enough to take them through to the quarter-finals.
An England official was overheard in a lap-dancing bar last night suggesting that Tuesdays match v Ukraine will see Hodgson select the same eleven to start against the host nation.
Rooney was suspended for the first two group games after a fail on a Moldovan in the last qualifying match back in October. The original suspension was for three matches but reduced on appeal. If Rooney is overlooked by Hodgson in favour of the current in-form strikers it would mirror the position of Jimmy Greaves at the 1966 World Cup.
Greaves was the first-choice striker for the England team during the tournament but suffered a shin injury during a game against France and had to be replaced. His replacement, Geoff Hurst, scored the winner in the quarter final against Argentina and kept his place all the way to the final, scoring a hat-trick as England won the tournament on home soil for their first, and to date, only major trophy.
England and Chelsea superfan Dave Mears told Gaga Radio sports team earlier "Winning the tournament without Rooney getting on the pitch is unthinkable, but stranger things have happened in football"
