#3 High flying teen at 2004 Euros
It was the Portugual 2004 Euros that made him an international sensation. Aged 18, Rooney played with an arrogance that only a teenager could possess. He became the youngest scorer in European Championship history with a brace in England’s 3-0 win over Switzerland, but against Croatia, he truly displayed his abilities.
Playing with the arrogance of an unintimidated youngster already coming to the peak of his prowess, Rooney scored two sublime goals. The first one was an outside-of-the-box long-range smash, while the second was the result of a fantastic one-two play which paved the way for him to steer clear and score.
It became apparent on an international scale how natural Rooney was on a pitch. England would win the match 4-2, playing some fine attacking football.
However, when Rooney got injured just 27 minutes into his first Euro's quarter-final, against Portugal it went downhill. England lost eventually on penalties. Rooney had blown away the international scene scoring 4 goals in total at the 2004 Euros.