Rooney will drive England on

In many ways he resembles the young Paul Gascoigne, another free spirit who needed shepherding through his early England days.

Gascoigne lived his dream at Newcastle, playing for the club he supported as a child. Rooney is living a similar dream, having been at Goodison Park since the age of 10.

Rooney had made just 15 Premiership starts for Everton when Eriksson gave him his England debut in a 3-1 defeat against Australia 16 months ago. He became England's youngest senior international at 17 years and 111 days.

"I was in the treatment room at Everton, messing around with a few of the lads when the manager came in and told me I'd been called up by England," he recalled. "I thought he meant the Under-21 side so when he told me it was the senior team I was really shocked." He was so shy in his first few days with the England squad he was reluctant to leave his hotel room and join the other players. In the end Liverpool's Steven Gerrard invited him to join them for a game of table tennis. Since then he and Gerrard have become firm friends.

Rooney has 13 caps and the two goals he scored in the 6-1 win over Iceland takes his total to five. Although Everton used him cautiously this season, he has been in England's starting line up for the last eight matches.

There's little doubt he'll partner another Merseyside hero, Michael Owen, against the French. The Liverpool striker became England's youngest goalscorer when he netted against Morocco in 1998, aged 18 years and 164 days. It was a distinction Rooney took from him when he scored in Macedonia in September 2003.

They've played together seven times for England, winning five games and drawing two.

Owen, who soared to global prominence during the 1998 World Cup, knows all about the expectation now resting on Rooney's shoulders. "He's playing well, he's full of confidence and I believe he's going to have a big tournament," said the Liverpool striker.

When Rooney walks out into the new Stadium of Light to face the European champions on Sunday it will be the pinnacle of a meteoric rise.

Just two summers ago, when Owen and the rest were contesting the World Cup in Japan, Rooney was watching at home on TV still waiting to make his professional debut.

"At the time I remember wondering whether I'd get into the Everton team," he recalled. "Playing for England was so far away from me, I wouldn't even consider it at the time."