Euro 2016: England not afraid of Gareth Bale’s Welsh team- Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney rates Gareth Bale among the world’s best, but England’s collective quality means he is not getting hung up on Wales’ star turn ahead of their Euro 2016 clash.

All eyes will be on the tiny French city of Lens on Thursday as the neighbours do battle in a mouth-watering Group B clash at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

England head into the match reeling from a late sucker punch against Russia in Marseille, where Eric Dier’s thunderous strike was cancelled out by a stoppage-time Vasili Berezutsky header.

That 1-1 draw adds an extra ingredient to Thursday’s already fascinating encounter, which Wales approach buoyed by winning their first ever European Championship match.

Bale set Chris Coleman’s men on their way with a fine free-kick in the 2-1 defeat of Slovakia, underlining qualities Rooney is well aware of, but not intimidated by.

“I think he is a fantastic player, probably in the top five players in the world,” the England captain said.

“He is the biggest threat for Wales, but I don’t think we will go out and man-mark him.

“I think we have to go out and play our game. They will have a lot to think about our team, too.

“I think we’ve got a good team, a good solid team and I’m sure it will be a fascinating game.”

Bale stoked the fires ahead of the Group B clash by claiming England were unable to match Wales’ pride and passion.

The Real Madrid forward labelled Roy Hodgson’s men “the enemy,” but Rooney was reluctant to hit back, saying his words added no extra motivation ahead of the crunch class.

“That’s what he feels, so I’m sure all us English players will feel different, but he’s obviously a proud Welshman, which he should be,” Rooney said.

“It’s where he’s from and we’re from England and we’re very proud Englishmen.

“It will be a hugely-anticipated game, we have to prepare well, recover from [Saturday] and get ready.”

Rooney remains confident of reaching the knock-out stages after a fine display in Marseille that showed much promise but lacked the required cutting edge.

It was a missed opportunity, but there remains palpable positivity, especially after the successful decision to deploy the Three Lions skipper in midfield.

Rooney thrived in the role for Manchester United towards the end of the campaign, but Saturday was his first time in the role on for his country.

“It worked well, we complimented each other’s games well,” he said of England’s system and his role within it.

“Obviously it’s my first game there for England, but I’ve played the last few months there for Man United so I’m used to that position and I think it worked well for me and the team.”