Gérard Houllier, the former Liverpool manager, believes Wayne Rooney's poor World Cup explains England's abysmal performance in South Africa.
Houllier, technical director of the French Football Federation, insisted England's stars failed to deliver and singled out the Manchester United striker, who struggled throughout, for individual criticism.
"Probably the key to understanding why England didn't perform at the World Cup is that the top players didn't do as well as we could expect them to," he said.
