Aston Villa defender Carlos Cuellar has given a glowing appraisal of Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, saying he could be the man to lead England to win the World Cup. After marking Rooney in the 1-1 midweek draw, Cuellar experienced what it is like to play against the in-form hitman and believes, form permitting, that he holds the key to the Three Lions tasting success.

"Rooney is playing very well. He is on fire now," the Spaniard said.

"He is scoring a lot of goals. He will cause anyone lots of problems.

"If Rooney continues to play like that, England can win the World Cup.

"England are one of the best national teams in the world and they have players who are scoring goals but Rooney is really on the ball."