Manchester United: Wayne Rooney has to work hard to reclaim England spot

Wayne Rooney has conceded that it is a huge challenge for him to be considered an indispensable part of the squad with a host of young players coming to the fore who deserve to be ahead of him on current form. The forward has not had the best of seasons in a Manchester United shirt this season and may make way for the likes of Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane, who have all proved their credentials in the league.

Vardy has been an incredible story, with the striker scoring 12 goals in 12 league appearances thus far, including in his last nine consecutive games. He is likely to sit out of the game against Spain owing to a knock he picked up against Watford last weekend but his form has not gone unnoticed by manager Roy Hodgson, who is willing to give him a chance to come to France for the European Championships next year.

Kane has rediscovered his form, scoring in the north London derby last weekend, while Daniel Sturridge, Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck are also in with a shout once they return from injury. On the other hand, Rooney has managed only two goals in the league thus far and has been shunted to a position behind the striker, which is currently occupied by Ross Barkley in the England setup.

"If the manager needs to have a look to see what he can do at international level, you have to understand that. It's a huge challenge to keep your place in the team and that's what I want to do. I want to prove myself. I feel that since Roy has been in charge, my international form has been great, I have scored a lot of goals and I hope that will continue," Rooney said, as quoted by the Guardian.

"As a footballer you want to play. But then I have to understand I have played a lot of games for England and players like Jamie Vardy have come in and done well. It's certainly the best group of strikers since I've been involved in the squad.

"We've also got players such as Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge and Theo Walcott out injured so it's a huge array of talent and great for the country. In previous years we've gone into tournaments and haven't had that many match-winners in the squad. Now we've got quite a few match-winners, which can only benefit us as a team," he added.