Rooney's top of the teens

"What Wayne did on Tuesday night was nothing short of extraordinary. For him to play like that in his first game for United following a long injury was absolutely incredible. As well as his huge talent, it shows the amount of faith Sir Alex Ferguson has in him, faith that has been fully rewarded."

Francis recognises a glorious sense of freedom in Rooney's approach to the game.

That Rooney plays with the natural ebullience of a kid in the park has passed into cliche, but it is true nonetheless, and Francis believes that his utter fearlessness is responsible for much of his success. That and a complete set of footballing skills which make him the most gifted player of his generation.

Francis said: "When you're that age you're not concerned about making mistakes because you've always got the fall-back that you're only an 18-year-old. A good manager knows that and will encourage you to take risks.

"Wayne is doing everything right at the moment. I went to Portugal to watch all the England games as a fan and couldn't believe the impact he had on the tournament. For England to miss an 18-year-old so much in the quarter-final against Portugal shows his value.

"Wayne has every single footballing attribute you could think of. He's got pace, dribbling ability, vision and can retain possession as well as anyone. He's got the upper-body strength to hold defenders off and is good in the air for someone who's not six foot, he's got excellent elevation. Above all, though, he's calm and cool in front of goal.

"He can score great goals from outside the box like he did on Tuesday, but can also finish from inside the box. The only player I can remember having a similar impact to Wayne in the last 20 or 30 years is Paul Gascoigne and he was several years older. Wayne has the opportunity to go on from this and become a genuinely world-class player."

As a player himself, Francis evolved from a penalty-box predator to an intelligent playmaker but he feels that Rooney has already reached footballing maturity.

Whereas Francis had to wait seven years for his international debut and eight for that £1million move to Nottingham Forest, Rooney has already won 16 England caps and become the world's most expensive teenager following his £27m move in the summer from Everton to United.

Francis said: "As you get older, you naturally change the way you play. As I matured, I started to modify my game, making different runs and looking to bring my team-mates into play, but Wayne's doing those things already.

"Wayne has great maturity and is more than just a goalscorer. I keep having to pinch myself to remind myself that he's only 18 as he plays like a 28-year-old. He will even relish the attention he's going to get.

"He's going to be playing in front of huge crowds in every game with huge expectations but will enjoy every minute of it.

"He has everything and should just keep doing the things he's doing. We're very fortunate to have a player of his ability in England and should enjoy him."