Forget the World Cup! Man Utd and England captain Wayne Rooney focused on Euro 2016

WAYNE ROONEY says England must forget their World Cup nightmare last summer and focus on qualifying for Euro 2016.

Hodgson: Kane can emulate Rooney [AMBIENT]

Almost 10 months have passed since England were dumped out of Brazil 2014 at the group stage and they are now in a controlling position of their qualifying pool for the Euros.

Five wins in five games leaves England with one foot in France 2016, although there are still five qualifiers left to play.

And captain Rooney insists the Three Lions will make it to France next summer and that their World Cup nightmare will be no hindrance to the squad ahead of their friendly with Italy tomorrow.

“We have to move on from the World Cup as a group of players, which I think we have done,” he said. “We’re looking to the future, rather than the past.

“The most important thing is to qualify for the Euros. Italy are a fantastic team. These are two great football nations. It will be a good test to look forward to and I’m excited to play.

“We said at the time we had young players at the World Cup who got experience from being there.

“It didn’t go as planned but we carried on with the plans to move forward and I feel we’ve done that.

“Quite a few have come into the squad. We’re unbeaten, won every game since the World Cup so we’re on the right path and looking for a result to keep that going.”

Wayne Rooney playing for EnglandGETTY

Wayne Rooney has scored seven goals for England since the World Cup

Rooney has scored seven goals for England since their nightmare in South America, including the opener against Lithuania last week.

And he discussed the inclusion of Harry Kane in England’s starting line-up to face Italy tomorrow night.

The in-form Tottenham striker required just over a minute to score on his international debut against Lithuania and, ahead of England’s friendly in Turin, Rooney revealed his excitement at starting alongside the 21-year-old.

"It's exciting that Harry Kane has done well in the Premier League and hopefully he can bring his form into the England team."

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