England striker Wayne Rooney has claimed that the Three Lions have the edge over Italy ahead of this weekend's meeting at the World Cup.

Roy Hodgson's men face the Azzurri in Manaus in the opening games of the two sides' respective group campaigns on Saturday, and the Manchester United forward thinks that his national side are the better team heading into the clash in Brazil.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday afternoon, Rooney said: "I think we have moved ahead of Italy in the last two years.

"The Italians should look at our team. They have some great players, but so do we and they should be worried about their own team.

"The squad we have is youthful with a lot of energy and excitement. It will be interesting to see how we have moved on and progressed."

Rooney also moved to dismiss any fears about United teammate Danny Welbeck's fitness after the forward missed Wednesday's training session.

Written by
Paul Gorst