John Terry issues Croatia with Wayne Rooney warning

Simon Johnson
9 Sep 2009

John Terry has warned Croatia they will pay a heavy price for trying to unsettle Wayne Rooney when they take on England at Wembley tonight.

Fabio Capello's men will secure their place at next year's World Cup finals if they beat Slaven Bilic's side and Terry says Rooney is determined to score.

Croatia head scout Goran Vucevic revealed yesterday that his team are aiming to target Rooney's 'wild' side in the hope he may lose his cool.

But Terry said: "If people are thinking of playing mind games with him and trying to get inside his head, it's not going to work at all. I have always said that Wayne has a fire in his belly. That's what players of his ability always have and is what helps them get to the top.

"Maybe they're looking to be physical, trying to get Wayne carried away from his football. But over the years we have seen him mature under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and, on the way, he's become one of the best players in the world.

"He will want to be aggressive in the tackle, win headers and compete with Croatia. He will never back down but he knows when to walk away. That's the difference between Wayne now and three or four years ago."

The reason England are on the verge of qualifying with two games to spare is largely thanks to Rooney's phenomenal scoring record of eight goals in seven matches during the campaign.

Terry feels Croatia should be concentrating more on trying to stop his talents as a footballer rather than looking to provoke him.

He added: "Wayne's biggest threat to them is in front of goal. He could have had a hat-trick against Slovenia at the weekend but he was in the right positions, which was the most important thing.

"Wayne's always in the right place to score goals, he provides a massive threat when he pulls off the last defender.

"They should be worried about playing against Wayne. He has the pace to go in behind as well. You never know which way he's going to go. He is a very difficult player to play against. He showed what he could do against them when we won 4-1 in Zagreb last year. He was the link-up player and helped Theo Walcott get his hat-trick, as well as getting a goal himself.”

Croatia and Tottenham star Niko Kranjcar is already fearing the worst, especially as his side are hindered without injured midfielder Luka Modric and defender Vedran Corluka, who is suspended.

He said: “We are not the same team without them. It will affect us very much and it's going to be tough.

“We never give up and will do our best. We have to play a smart game and hopefully it turns out well for us.

“We played at Wembley two years ago and won but it will be a different game. We hope we can stay tight in defence and then counter attack.”