FIFA praise for Rooney

Rooney and his fellow Three Lions players returned from South Africa to a storm of criticism for their failure to progress beyond the last 16.

Rooney in particular was labelled one of the biggest disappointments of the tournament following several disinterested and toothless displays.

But a study group consisting of former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier and former Scotland boss Andy Roxburgh have ruled that England were in fact a team with "strong, hard-working players" whose "aerial strength (was) used effectively at set pieces in defence".

The report singled out Rooney for praise as a "hard-working, energetic striker... (who) worked hard for the team... (with) good technique" while nominating the frontman, who failed to find the back of the net, as one of England’s three players of the tournament.

Midfielder Steven Gerrard was England’s most influential player, according to the report, "a dynamic midfielder with good vision and technique, who linked defence and attack”.

England's "effective use of full-backs" impressed the panel and saw Ashley Cole win the final place among the team's three "outstanding players": he was described as “a competitive left-back with good technique who made forceful attacking runs”.

Meanwhile, Jean-Paul Brigger, the report’s technical director, described world champions Spain as the complete team and arguably the “team of the century”.

Brigger said: “Spain won Euro 2008 and are now world champions too, which is a stunning success.

“The Spanish team has grown and developed together and is now capable of fantastic, highly attractive football.

“They’re compact and tackle and run hard too. Xavi, Iniesta and Xabi Alonso in midfield cover huge amounts of ground but play fabulous football too – it looks pretty and even playful, but it’s actually very hard work indeed.

“They’re a complete team, arguably contenders for team of the century.”