Steven Gerrard: "People talk about the yellow card he got the other day but that is Wayne Rooney," said Gerrard.
"He is always on the edge. He has got that fire in his belly.
"I know Wayne. I know about his upbringing and his background. We have a good understanding on the pitch because we are quite close off it.
"If Wayne channels his frustrations in the right way he can be one of the players of this tournament.
"We watched a specially made DVD wishing us good luck from Afghanistan.
"It was very moving and touching.
"They were a mixture of ages, all passionate guys wearing all kinds of different shirts basically taking a couple of seconds each to wish us all the best.
"It made me realise how lucky I am to be here leading the team out in the World Cup.
"It puts everything into perspective and drives you when you realise what kind of support we have and it finally hit home that the matches are round the corner and the support back home is massive."
Michael Ballack believes Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard can forge a formidable midfield partnership for England, but only if they "pull their egos back".
Michael Ballack: "Gerrard and Lampard should be intelligent enough to make it work.
"They've had problems before, but have to pull their egos back for the good of the team.
"They can't just play as they do for their clubs as they both want to get forward and are a little bit similar. If they pull back a little bit, they can make it work easily.
"If you play for a big team you are surrounded by good players, so you can't just think 'me, me, me!' all the time.
"You have to make sacrifices. It would be a shame if they weren't smart enough to work it out. I would love to have one of them in the German team, never mind two."
GROUP A FIXTURES
Friday, 11 June 2010
South Africa v Mexico, 15:00
Uruguay v France, 19:30
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
South Africa v Uruguay, 19:30
Thursday, 17 June 2010
France v Mexico, 19:30
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
France v South Africa, 15:00
Mexico v Uruguay, 15:00
GROUP B FIXTURES
Saturday, 12 June 2010
South Korea v Greece, 12:30
Argentina v Nigeria, 15:00
Thursday, 17 June 2010
Argentina v South Korea, 12:30
Greece v Nigeria, 15:00
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
Greece v Argentina, 19:30
Nigeria v South Korea, 19:30
GROUP C FIXTURES
Saturday, 12 June 2010
England v USA, 19:30
Sunday, 13 June 2010
Algeria v Slovenia, 12:30
Friday, 18 June 2010
Slovenia v USA, 15:00
England v Algeria, 19:30
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Slovenia v England, 15:00
USA v Algeria, 15:00
GROUP D FIXTURES
Sunday, 13 June 2010
Serbia v Ghana, 15:00
Germany v Australia, 19:30
Friday, 18 June 2010
Germany v Serbia, 12:30
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Ghana v Australia, 15:00
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Australia v Serbia, 19:30
Ghana v Germany, 19:30
GROUP E FIXTURES
Monday, 14 June 2010
Netherlands v Denmark, 12:30
Japan v Cameroon, 15:00
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Netherlands v Japan, 12:30
Cameroon v Denmark, 19:30
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Cameroon v Netherlands, 19:30
Denmark v Japan, 19:30
GROUP F FIXTURES
Monday, 14 June 2010
Italy v Paraguay, 19:30
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
New Zealand v Slovakia, 12:30
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Slovakia v Paraguay, 12:30
Italy v New Zealand, 15:00
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Paraguay v New Zealand, 15:00
Slovakia v Italy, 15:00
GROUP G FIXTURES
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Ivory Coast v Portugal, 15:00
Brazil v North Korea, 19:30
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Brazil v Ivory Coast, 19:30
Monday, 21 June 2010
Portugal v North Korea, 12:30
Friday, 25 June 2010
North Korea v Ivory Coast, 15:00
Portugal v Brazil, 15:00
GROUP H FIXTURES
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Honduras v Chile, 12:30
Spain v Switzerland, 15:00
Monday, 21 June 2010
Chile v Switzerland, 15:00
Spain v Honduras, 19:30
Friday, 25 June 2010
Chile v Spain, 19:30
Switzerland v Honduras, 19:30