England star Rooney hopes Portugal misses the World Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo`s Portugal is in danger of missing the World Cup but Wayne Rooney isn`t bothered at all by Portugal`s qualifying struggles.

In fact, the Manchester United striker revealed he hopes Portugal will fail to qualify for the WC 2010 in South Africa.

`It would be nice to see Portugal not there because in the last two tournaments they’ve knocked us out,` Rooney told BBC Radio 5 live.

`When we didn’t qualify for Euro 2008, we got a lot of stick from Ronaldo.`

Rooney made it clear he admires his former team mate, stating that he`s still the best player in the world.

` It’s clear for everyone,` Rooney said. `He scores goals. I’ve watched his first few games for Madrid and he seems to have improved again. `But he does add with a grin. `He’s passing the ball a lot more as well.`

Portugal are currently third in qualifying Group One, two points behind second-placed Sweden, and could miss out on a play-off spot.