Rooney drawing raves -and comparisons to Pele
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-06-23 06:47

Teenage sensation Wayne Rooney was compared to Pele, the most famous soccer player of all time, after he powered England into the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 with two goals in a 4-2 defeat of Croatia on Monday.

England are joined in the last eight by champions France who beat Switzerland 3-1 thanks to two late goals from Thierry Henry.

Swiss striker Johann Vonlanthen took over from Rooney as the youngest scorer in European Championship history with his first half effort.

England now face a mouth-watering game on Thursday against hosts Portugal, who sparked a night of wild celebrations by beating neighbours Spain 1-0 on Sunday. Group B winners France will take on upstarts Greece on Friday, also in Lisbon.

Rooney, 18, is Euro 2004's top scorer with four goals, leading his normally understated coach Sven-Goran Eriksson to draw comparisons with Brazil's maestro.

"I sometimes try not to say things, but he is absolutely incredible," said Eriksson. "I don't remember anyone making such an impact on a tournament since Pele in the 1958 World Cup."

His comments are sure to provoke lively debate among fans in Lisbon's heaving bars - Pele was just 17 when he scored six goals in 1958, including two in the 5-2 final win over Sweden.

There is no doubt, however, that Rooney's display will have club owners around the world checking their bank balances to see if they can afford a player whose worth to his employers, Everton, goes up by millions every game he plays in Portugal.

England, who needed just a draw to qualify, suffered a shock after five minutes when Nico Kovac pounced from close range to give Croatia the lead.

Rooney created England's equalizer for Paul Scholes after 40 minutes and then belted his side in front six minutes later with a ferocious right-foot shot.

Rooney galloped clear to make it 3-1 after 68 minutes and although Igor Tudor headed a second for a spirited Croatia side, Frank Lampard sealed victory late on.

England captain David Beckham, no stranger to the limelight, joined in the celebration of the Rooney phenomenon.

"When you see him perform, nothing fazes him," said Beckham. "It was a big game tonight. He has produced again and he deserves all the praise he gets."

Asked about Eriksson's comment, Beckham told reporters: "I think he's probably right.

"It's a great compliment, but I think he (Rooney) deserves it because of how he is performing. If he carries on, then hopefully we'll go a long way in this tournament.

"He's an amazing player, he's proving that to a lot of people over here. He doesn't have to prove it to us because we know what a great player he is.

"He's doing it in each game and we're very happy to have him in our team."

Zidane goal

In Coimbra, Zinedine Zidane headed France into a 20th-minute lead with his third goal of the tournament but Vonlanthen, 18 years and four months old, rocked the holders six minutes later with a cool angled finish.

"We are satisfied to have reached this stage," Zidane said after scoring the first goal in a tougher than expected test for the French in Group B.

"We finished top of the group, which was one of our goals here. Basically, we are happy. Now we are going to take some rest and prepare for the next match."

That game will be against Greece, who pipped Spain to the runners-up spot behind Portugal in Group A, at the Jose Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon on Friday.

"You always can improve one or two things in your strategy," Zidane said. "We are through and it's the most important matter. France have done their duty tonight."

Henry sealed a quarter-final place with his first goals of the tournament in the 76th and 84th minutes.

"It's good news to learn (Henry) is scoring goals again," Zidane said. "We are happy, just like he certainly must be."

Vonlanthen was playing only because striker Alexander Frei was provisionally suspended after television footage showed him spitting at an England player last week in Coimbra.

Frei, who has denied spitting, was pulled out of the Swiss team just hours before the kickoff. UEFA then announced that he had been suspended for 15 days.

French coach Jacques Santini surprisingly refused to assess France's performance.

"I think we can put this matter away until tomorrow," Santini told a news conference. "The main goal was to qualify and it's what we did tonight."

Santini said Switzerland had provided a strong challenge to the champions, who he admitted lost control of the match during the second half.

"We refused to give it up even if the Swiss put us under great pressure after the interval," he said. "We certainly should have scored another goal after we opened the scoring.

"We had four or five clear chances to find the net but we squandered them," he said.

"Being 2-0 up would have helped us to be more serene for the rest of the game."

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