By DPA,
London: Slovenia plan to target England striker Wayne Rooney when the sides meet in the World Cup, according to reports in British daily The Guardian.
Rooney angered Slovenia’s players as he was awarded a penalty in England’s 2-1 friendly win at Wembley in September, when he seemed to have fouled defender Bostjan Cesar.
“I’ll have additional motivation for that match,” Cesar told Slovenian TV.
“Everybody knows that Rooney deliberately tried to injure me. He should be ashamed of himself.
“We will try to wind him up and make it an unpleasant experience for him and his team-mates.”
Midfielder Valter Birsa, who plays for Auxerre in France, said he thought Slovenia had “matched England in London,” and said the side was full of confidence after beating Russia in a play-off to qualify.
“We have to be aware that England were not at full strength then,” he went on.
“But we were completely equal to them until the referee decided to gift them a penalty kick. I hope they will underestimate us. That’s what the Russians did and look at them now.”
Meanwhile, the former Slovenia star Zlatko Zahovic, who was sent home from the 2002 World Cup after a row with his coach Srecko Katanec, said he believed England could suffer a similar fall-out.
“For me England are not one of the favourites,” he said. “They are a team full of stars and egos. They cannot possibly spend a month and a half together without friction.”