Cristiano Ronaldo says his old friend Wayne Rooney will be beside himself with frustration at being suspended for England's first two games at Euro 2012.
Ronaldo, who played with Rooney at Manchester United from 2004-2009, said: “For England, the absence of Rooney for the first two matches will be very important.
“And knowing him as I do I think he will be going up the walls! But the rules are well known and there isn’t much you can do about it.
“England have some other great players and they will fight for everything no matter. They could still go through.”
Usual suspects: Ronaldo isn't going out on a limb on potential Euros winners
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Ronaldo isn’t tipping England to win the trophy, though - especially not if Spain get off to a flying start by beating Italy tomorrow.
He said: “If you look at statistics and the form table, then I think you can say we expect a final between Spain and Germany.
"That would surprise no-one - and in the Euros I don’t think you get too many surprises, because the favourites are always the usual ones.
“By that, I mean Spain, Germany and Holland.
"But maybe this year it is wide open and that gives England hope – and Portugal too!”
