Rooney disappointed with opener

England captain Wayne Rooney has admitted it was disappointing to allow their lead to slip in the dying stages of Saturday’s Euro 2016 Group B opener against Russia.

The Three Lions played some eye catching football as they attempted to make a positive start to their campaign at the European Championships. England, who are priced at 9.50 to win Euro 2016, dominated large periods of the game in Marseille but failed to take their opportunities. Rooney, Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Adam Lallana all had good chances to hit the net for England but none could provide the final touch required.

Roy Hodgson’s men did eventually get what they deserved on 73 minutes when Tottenham’s Eric Dier rifled a free kick into the top corner.

However, England couldn’t hold on to their advantage and suffered a cruel ending to the match when Vasil Berezutsky headed home an injury-time equaliser to secure a share of the points. The England captain was one of the top performers on the day as he was utilised in a deeper midfield role, but he revealed his frustration at the full-time whistle.

Rooney said: “[I am] disappointed not to win it obviously. I thought we played some really good stuff, created chances and controlled the game. “We had our chances but that’s football, you’ve got to take them. We got the goal and had the game in our hands. It’s really disappointing not to win but there were a lot of positives and if we play like that we’ll be okay.”

“The way we controlled the game, for such a young squad, was excellent. We had a 15-minute period where we had to settle down a bit at the start of the second half but we got through that and got the goal. The negative was the goal we conceded. It’s disappointing, it feels like a defeat at the minute but we have to take it and move on. “Hopefully we’ll play a similar game against Wales and if we do we’ll be fine.”