Wayne Rooney backtracks on Nuno Espirito Santo criticism following Nottingham Forest’s penalty shootout win over Brighton after admitting he was ‘shocked’ by the Portuguese boss’ team selection

Wayne Rooney backtracked on his words after criticising Nuno Espirito Santo before Nottingham Forest beat Brighton on penalties in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

In the pre-match build-up, Rooney was unimpressed with Espirito Santo’s decision to rotate his starting XI despite the importance of the game, stating that he was ‘shocked’ by the Portuguese manager’s team selection.

Espirito Santo made three changes to the side that beat Ipswich before the international break, benching Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga.

However, after Forest managed to beat Brighton 4-3 on penalties following a goalless draw after 120 minutes, Rooney retracted his reproval.

The Premier League‘s ‘surprises of the season’ booked their spot in the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1991, and are a step closer to winning their first piece of silverware since they won the competition in 1959.

‘You’ve got to give Nuno some credit,’ Rooney admitted after full-time.

Rooney gave the Portuguese boss credit at full-time, having blasted his team selection in the pre-match build-up

Forest beat Brighton 4-3 on penalties after the game ended 0-0 following 120 minutes of action

‘We said before the game we thought he made a mistake resting some players, but when they go through you have got to give them credit.’

Speaking on Espirito Santo’s team selection before the game, Rooney said: ‘I’m shocked.

‘I think the FA Cup is such a prestigious tournament and to rest players in the quarter-final when you’ve got a great opportunity to get to the semi-finals. They’re trying to get into Champions League football which is fine.

‘But as a player, you want to play, you want to get momentum, you want to keep trying to win games. To leave players out… If I was a fan, I’d be fuming.

‘You want to win silverware and this is a great opportunity. To leave players out when they’re not guaranteed to win the game on Tuesday is beyond belief for me.’

Rooney was sacked by Plymouth in December after overseeing just four wins in 23 league games.

He has since made regular appearances as a pundit on BBC and Amazon Prime.

Reports, meanwhile, emerged last month that Rooney has been in talks over joining Match of the Day as an occasional pundit next season.