Former England striker Shearer urges Rooney to break his record at Euros

London - Former England striker Alan Shearer has expressed hope that talismanic forward Wayne Rooney would overcome his tally of 30 goals by the end of the Euro Cup, and also tipped the Three Lions vice captain to become the nation's top scorer in the future.

Rooney's winner against Ukraine on Tuesday was his goal number 29 for England putting him one behind Shearer, who is joint fifth in the all-time goal-scoring list alongside Tom Finney and Nat Lofthouse.

" I hope by the end of this tournament he has smashed my record. If he has then who knows what we will have achieved," The Sun quoted Shearer, as saying.

Rooney has a way to go to beat Manchester United legend Bobby Charlton's 49 goals at the top of the England pile. But Shearer said: "He is still just 27, so he could go on and be the number one."

"It is some challenge but that is what Wayne loves. He will certainly be looking forward to the next challenge against Italy on Sunday," he added.

Shearer brushed aside fears that Rooney was still not at the top of his game after the striker missed a clear-cut chance to score against Ukraine in the first half before scoring the winner.

"It wasn't his greatest game and he missed a good chance early on. But he showed his instinct to be in the right place for the goal no matter how the ball got there," Shearer said.

"Great strikers can have poor games but still come out with a goal. Now after getting that game under his belt and a goal I expect us to see a much better Wayne Rooney against Italy," he added.