Rooney is here to stay: Sven

Sven-Goran Eriksson insisted it would now be almost impossible for him to leave out Wayne Rooney after the teenager’s inspirational full debut in England’s morale-boosting victory against Turkey.

Having drawn fulsome applause from the rest of the England squad for an exquisite chipped goal in training on the eve of the game, Rooney earned a standing ovation from the Stadium of Light crowd.

Having initially taken time to find his feet amid a frenzied midfield battle, 17-year-old Rooney came of age with a display of precocious maturity and talent that helped to inspire his side.

As a result, a 75th-minute strike from substitute Darius Vassell and David Beckham’s late penalty ensured that England leap-frogged above Turkey to the top of their Euro 2004 qualifying group.

They still need to defeat Slovakia at home in June. There is also a trip to Turkey in October in the final game, after matches away to Macedonia and at home to Liechtenstein.

Eriksson declared: “After that, I can’t see any reason why I should leave him (Rooney) out but of course I’m not yet picking the team to play South Africa, Serbia-Montenegro and Slovakia.”