Rooney in a confident mood ahead of Italy game

DONETSK, UKRAINE – JUNE 19: Wayne Rooney of England crosses the ball during the UEFA EURO 2012 group D match between England and Ukraine at Donbass Arena on June 19, 2012 in Donetsk, Ukraine. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

England’s star striker Wayne Rooney is ready to face 2006 World Cup champions Italy in the quarter finals of Euro 2012 on Sunday.

The Manchester United player, who was suspended for the opening two fixtures at the tournament, scored in his debut appearance at the Euro 2012 against Ukraine and is in an optimistic mood ahead of the quarter finals. Speaking to talkSPORT, Rooney said:

“We’re more organised than ever. The lads have all been fighting for each other. We want to do this together, so I think we’ve got a great chance. We feel good, we’ve prepared well and we’re really looking forward to it.

“It’s important that we believe in ourselves. We’ve got a great group of players and we’re confident. It’s not going to be an easy game, but we’ve got the players, we’ve got the belief and the togetherness to do a job on them. Once you get to this stage of the competition anything can happen.”

The 25-year-old was pleased by his performance against the Ukrainians despite missing a couple of decent chances, including a clear header from an Ashley Young cross. He added:

“Maybe a few years ago I would have run round trying to do everything in the first 20 minutes, but you’ve got to try and feel your way into the game.

“I tried to do that – I didn’t always do it as well as I wanted to, but that was always going to be the case I think. As the game went on I felt stronger and that will help us for Sunday.”