Former England striker Wayne Rooney compared Spain’s winger Nico Williams to the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the European Championship (Euro) 2024 final which is set to be played at the Olympiastadion Berlin on Sunday.
Williams has been one of Spain’s most important players in the ongoing tournament as they qualified for their first Euro final since 2012 when they beat Italy and lifted their second consecutive Euro title.
Spain have Lamine Yamal and Williams as their wingers, both are good and explosive wingers and Rooney believes that England will need to defend their flanks really well as the two youngsters pose real threat.
“England will need to defend well on the flanks against Spain, because their brilliant two young wingers provide their main threat,” Rooney told The Times.
“Lamine Yamal will be full of confidence after his brilliant goal against France and he reminds me a bit of how I was at Euro 2004 – a teenager having the time of his life.
“Fear? Young lads like him, Nico Williams and Mainoo haven’t lived long enough to know it or understand what it is. On the big stage of a European Championship they’re just playing and enjoying it and having fun, and normally that’s the best way to play the game.”
Rooney then lauded Williams and compared him to Ronaldo, his former teammate at Manchester United, due to having the same playing style as the Portuguese.
“Williams, for me, is exceptional. He reminds me of Cristiano Ronaldo when Cristiano was young. He’s a big lad, he’ll take the ball and sometimes tries too much but usually makes the right decisions,” Rooney added.
“He is an incredible threat in one-on-one situations and scores goals as well. England need to be really careful with him.”
