Rooney has gone from England's greatest hope to its biggest problem

Eurosport's Marcus Foley is in Marseille for England's opening match of Euro 2016, and witnessed tense scenes the day before - both at the stadium and beyond.

“I don’t have to sit here and defend myself. I know my qualities. I’m aware my game has changed - and changed for the better.” That was Wayne Rooney’s terse reply to the question from a Russian journalist whether he was the weak link in the England side. Unfortunately for Rooney, there is a building body of evidence to suggest the changes he alluded to have not been to the benefit of the player or this England team.

Roy Hodgson may not have explicitly admitted as much, but the fact that Rooney has had to be shoehorned into the England team at the tip of the diamond is evidence enough. He no longer has the explosiveness that marked his early career; he no longer has the skillset to lead the line.

What's worse - for both England and Rooney himself - is that he does not appear comfortable in a more withdrawn role either.

To be fair to him, Rooney is relatively new to the position and he may very well grow into the role. However, that is not a risk Hodgson should be taking at his third tournament in charge of the national team - not with a player now in his 30s, at any rate.

England should be playing their strongest eleven and that means Rooney no longer makes the grade. It is a stark and shocking decline for a player who was once undoubtedly the most talented of his generation.

Rooney was an exceptional talent. There was a time when he was on a par with Cristiano Ronaldo. When the pair were at United, there was a genuine debate as to who was the better player. The comparison looks laughable now. Sir Alex Ferguson noted this decline as far back as 2013.

First he dropped Rooney for the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid before then announcing that ‘the lad’ has asked to leave. It was a request Ferguson seemed more than happy to comply with; had Ferguson not retired, the chances are Rooney would have been jettisoned that summer. Since then it has been a slow, gradual decline for Rooney.

The simple facts are not that Rooney cannot match Harry Kane or Jamie Vardy up front, nor can he bring as much to the number 10 role as Dele Alli, or possibly even the perennially injured Jack Wilshere.

Despite Rooney's decline, however, it seems almost completely inevitable that Rooney will start against Russia on Saturday night. Furthermore, it appears as though he is guaranteed to start for much of the tournament.

Russia are a much improved side under Leonid Slutsky but they have been shorn of their two midfield mainstays in Alan Dzagoev and Igor Denisov.

That injury blow coupled with an aging centre-back pairing of Segei Ignashevic and Vasili Berezutsky means there should be acres of space for Rooney to operate in. If he fails to shine against a functional Russian team then his tip of the diamond tenure should be brought to an immediate end.

Rooney was once the great hope of English football, the brightest jewel of the 'Golden Generation'.

Now, he has become England's big problem. A position of influence and importance to the squad as skipper has earned him untouchable status, but England don't have enough talent to carry a passenger at this tournament. If his performance level does not improve immeasurably then he could derail the Three Lions hopes of Euro 2016 glory before they even get off the ground.