England coach Fabio Capello rates Wayne Rooney as one of the best players he has ever worked with.

Although Sir Alex Ferguson might not have been too impressed at the sight of Rooney racing round Wembley on Wednesday night, only three days after helping Manchester United win the Carling Cup final, for Capello it was a joy to behold.

The Italian cannot say World Cup glory would be impossible without his talisman, but, when he stresses he hopes his players are fit, Rooney is top of the pile without question.

All the superlatives have already been trotted out about his talent, his work-rate, his energy.

For Capello, a man who has worked with some of the best players of all time during stints at Juventus, AC Milan, Roma and Real Madrid, it is enough to say Rooney is right up there with the greatest.

"Rooney is one of the best players I have worked with," he said.

"He can score goals. He gets assists. He helps the team. He runs a lot. He is completely different to the other players.

"He is like (Real Madrid striker) Raul. He ran a lot and helped others too. But he is physically stronger than Raul and he is faster as well.

"Rooney is young and strong. He is already at the top level and he can get better."

It is fair to say, therefore, he will be a marked man in South Africa.

In the opening game against the United States in Rustenburg on June 12, and maybe the other Group C encounters with Algeria and Slovenia, it should not be a problem.

But, when the opposition gets tougher, and defences become meaner and more cynical, Rooney needs to be on his guard.

The 24-year-old is still capable of rage. Indeed, Capello had to silence him in the dressing room at half-time against Egypt on Wednesday night when he returned angry at England's below-par display before they eventually went on to triumph 3-1.

But he has no fear of an explosion. No fear his temper will overcome him, as it did in the quarter-final against Portugal four years ago.

"Rooney will be one of the most important players at the World Cup," said Capello.

"With the big players, the manager of the opposition team always thinks you have to close them down at every moment.

"But I don't fear that attention for Rooney. He knows everything.

"He knows what will happen during the World Cup. The referees also know. But Wayne is more mature now."

With the friendlies out of the way, Capello faces that agonising period, counting down the days until he gets his squad together again on May 17 for a couple of training camps in Austria before the flight to South Africa.

Privately, he will be hoping for a Stoke victory at Chelsea tomorrow as it would mean four men he might need - Ashley Cole included - are not required for the FA Cup final.

Whisper it quietly, but he would probably be quite happy for Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho to be celebrating Champions League glory at his old club's expense on March 16 as well.

Not that Manchester United and, to a lesser extent, Arsenal are immune.

A Stoke-Reading FA Cup final - he regards Ryan Shawcross as one for the future, not for now - and Barcelona v Real Madrid in the Champions League would do Capello quite nicely thank you.

He intends to have 30 men available at some point in Austria - the camps will be split by a short trip back home for a meeting with Mexico at Wembley on either May 23 or 24 before the final friendly against Japan in Graz on May 30.

Then comes the tricky bit. Telling the unlucky seven they are going home and not coming back.

"For a start, I hope a lot of them won't be injured," he said. "I will tell them personally.

"It is not the best moment for me because I like all the players. They are really good players.

"I will say thank you very much but I have to choose."