Rooney was star man for England grabbing a goal, hitting the post and almost beating the keeper with an outrageous chip in what has to be said, was a cracking game. Ferdinand was unconvincing, being slightly pedestrianised for Argentina's first goal. He excelled in the dressing room afterwards, however, in his role as social secretary.
Fletcher played in Scotland's draw with USA. Howard was a non-playing substitute.
Park impressed in South Korea's 2-2 draw with Sweden in Seoul.
Van der Sar was substitued at half time when Italy were beating Holland 2-1. The game finished 3-1.
Ronaldo was the star as Portugal beat Croatia 2-0.
The Times compare Rooney with Carlos Tevez, a player who caught Red Issue's a few years back.
For countries that have been at war with each other, England and Argentina are represented on the field of their shared passion by two incredibly alike and dynamic forces. Wayne Rooney showed yet again that he is, by far, England’s most precociously gifted and determined young player. And, on the Argentine side, Carlos Tevez represents pound for pound the most exciting chunk of beef steak that his nation has bred.
They are such volatile young men in life — on the pitch both have the build of young bullocks — and in action they make the difference when that material blend of centralisation as well as great skill is called for. Rooney scored for England and Tevez, who this season has scored 18 goals for Corinthians of Sao Paulo, was the explosive instrument in many of Argentina’s attacks.
Indeed the comparisons go as deep as their roots. Rooney is from Croxteth, one of the toughest council estates of Liverpool; Tevez is known as the "Apache", not because he has a drop of native American blood but because the barrio, the slum area of Buenos Aires where he learnt his skills, is known by the locals as Fort Apache. It is poor, it is rough, it is Croxeth with extra degrees of poverty — and out of it the escape can be a child’s game.
Look at them both, look at the astonishing love they have of the ball, and look at their muscle and physique. Astonishing, isn’t it? But they both know how to play football, and sometimes last night, when they mesmerised supposedly more experienced professionals, they seemed to possess a vision of the game beyond the norm.
How England needed the intensity, the menace and the sheer workrate of Rooney. He was doing the work of at least two men, and it was difficult to pretend that Michael Owen was in the game, or any kind of foil to the 20-year-old, until his late dramatics. Laughably, somebody suggested that Rooney is at his best as the shadow striker, the man who lurks behind the frontrunner and exploits the space and confusion in the centre forward’s wake. Rooney could never be a shadow of anything. He is full on, attritional in the extreme, and willing to take on all odds — on his own if needs be.
In a nine-minute patch in the first half he was the very epicentre of this contest. On the half-hour he burst into Argentina’s area, a superb, slanting, ghosting run onto Steven Gerrard’s through-ball. He had the pace, although it sometimes seems less searing than in his teens, to burn off the Argentine defenders, but his shot, flicked with the right foot beyond the goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri, struck the base of the far post.
On fire now, Rooney within two minutes had wheeled away from Martin Demichelis, the Argentina holding player in midfield. It was a long run, rapacious and sharp, and it made us appreciate how much slimmer Rooney looks these days.