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Wayne Rooney is expected to be one of the stars of this year8217;s Euro 2004. Despite his tender years, the 18-year-old forward is odds on ...

Wayne Rooney is expected to be one of the stars of this year8217;s Euro 2004. Despite his tender years, the 18-year-old forward is odds on favourite to line up beside Liverpool8217;s Michael Owen.

Rooney has already made history by becoming the youngest player to score for England when in 2003 at the age of just 17 years and 317 days he got the first goal against Macedonia. Owen was the previous holder of the honour and coach Sven Goran Eriksson sees the young pretender as the perfect foil to Owen8217;s blistering pace.

England not afraid of THE FRENCH STARS

David Beckham said playing France would be one of their hardest games but said they would show no fear during their opening match.

Beckham maintained that France are not unbeatable even if he has the highest respect for them. The teams meet at Lisbonon June 13. 8220;They8217;ve got players who have been unbelievable for their clubs this season, such as Patrick Vieira, Thierry chenry and Claude Makelele, but Zinedine Zidane realises we8217;ve got a great squad of players, just like they do.8221;

8220;I think it8217;s a lot better to be playing France first, rather than second or third, as we don8217;t want to let Thierry get his legs going!8221;

Figo scores from 20m

First half goals gave Portugal a 3-0 win over Luxembourg on Saturday in their penultimate run-out before Euro 2004. Midfielder Luis Figo opened the scoring from a 20-metre freekick 14 minutes into the match. Striker Nuno Gomes doubled the lead after 28 minutes with a shot inside the box after a neat pass by Rui Costa. Costa made it 3-0 with a 30-metre low shot eight minutes from the break, his 24th goal for the Portuguese team. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and Manchester United8217;s Sir Alex Ferguson also believe Rooney could come of age in Portugal. With only two years left on his Everton contract it is expected that stellar performances at Euro 2004 could lead to a continuation of Rooney8217;s upward spiral with a transfer move to the likes of Chelsea or Manchester United.