Wednesday 1 June 2016 15:53, UK
England captain Wayne Rooney insists the youngsters Roy Hodgson has picked for Euro 2016 deserve to play.
Rooney will skipper the youngest 23-man group in the tournament - with an average age of just 25.8 years - including his 18-year-old Manchester United team-mate Marcus Rashford, who became the country's youngest ever debutant goal-scorer in the win over Australian on Friday.
The travelling party also contains 20-year-old Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli, 21-year-old Man City forward Raheem Sterling, and four 22-year-olds including Spurs duo Harry Kane and Eric Dier, and Everton pair Ross Barkley and John Stones.
Rooney, who is one of only four players aged 30 or over in the squad, became the youngest scorer in European Championship history as an 18-year-old in 2004.
And, ahead of England's final warm-up match against Portugal on Thursday, the striker said: "It's a young squad but we've got a lot of quality.
"A lot of players in squad have been put into their league teams and taken their chance, and they deserve to play
"I've always believed I've been fortunate to benefit from being put in there as a 16-year-old, getting my chance and taking it.
"I've always said I've been really excited to play in this team and nothing's changed. I'm proud to captain and lead them into the tournament, and I believe we have a good enough squad to do well."
Rooney has struggled with injuries in previous major tournaments, including an infamous broken metatarsal in the build up to World Cup 2006, but he insists he is fully fit for France this month.
"I'm injury free. In a lot of tournaments I've had little niggles, so I'm happy with my fitness and my form," he said.
"I joined up a bit later than the rest but the players have been in great spirits. We'll have a couple of days after the Portugal game with families, before France.
"Other than that, preparations have been as good as they can be. We are looking forward to game tomorrow and then going out to France. Speaking to the players, they're all excited."
