Injured England skipper Rio Ferdinand has told his team-mates to think back to when England hammered Germany 5-1 at Munich in 2001. Rio told The Sun that comments Franz Beckenbauer made about 'The Three Lions' will come back to bite him. And the defender also put his faith in Wayne Rooney, as the striker comes under criticism...

"The Germany game is where Wazza can do the business. I'm desperate for him to come out of this tournament as the game's greatest player. If it happens, there's a chance we'll win the World Cup." said the 31-year-old.

'Kaiser' Franz Beckenbauer branded Fabio Capello's side as 'burnt out' and 'stupid', after setting up a tie with his home country, Germany. But Rio has said the comments will come back to bite the legend. "I think those comments will come back to bite Beckenbauer. Perhaps he wasn't expecting Germany and England to meet this early in the competition."

"It has unsettled him and he has got a bit rattled, so he's looking for ways to get under our skin. But he hasn't. He has just made the lads more determined. The team that wins a World Cup doesn't necessarily start great. It's the way you finish that counts."

"I know some of the lads think it would have been better to play Ghana and it would have been an easier route for us. But I prefer Germany, because you know what you're getting with them. Ghana can be unpredictable. Germany are more straightforward."

He added: "We start again at the knockout stage and facing Germany will spur us on. We are going to have to play well and have a bit of luck. Yet we see ourselves as a lot better team than one which goes out in the last 16."