It mirrors that of his Liverpool team-mate Michael Owen who burst on to the scene in 1998 and made his mark on France 98.

His performances for Liverpool have been outstanding and Kevin Keegan seems to be his greatest fan.

If Gerrard can make even half the impression this summer that Owen made two years ago then Keegan's judgement will have been proved right.

Keegan first selected Gerrard to face Argentina in March but the youngster was ruled out through injury.

Gerrard is likely to be in the England set-up for a long time to come, but one thing that must have attracted him to Keegan is his versatility.

This season for Liverpool he has played at right-back, at right midfield, in central midfield and he has even filled in with distinction at emergency centre-back.

A very handy man to have in your squad.