Roy Hodgson is hoping that Wayne Rooney can do for England what Pele did for Brazil.

After serving his two-match suspension, the Manchester United forward will make his first appearance at Euro 2012 tonight as the Three Lions take on co-hosts Ukraine in Donetsk.

Hodgson is excited by Rooney's return and the England boss believes that the 26-year-old could prove to be the difference between success and failure for his team.

He said: "If you look back through the years, if you take Pele for example, he was capable of producing his very best football when it really mattered to help Brazil win World Cups. Let's hope that Wayne Rooney can start to do that for us and then, if we win, who knows?

"If Wayne can produce his best, he can help us keep going even further. Everyone knows what Wayne Rooney's all about. He makes us more threatening going forward.

"He's a world-class player and I can see it in his eyes that he's itching to get out there and perform. He could, hopefully, make the difference."

Pele scored 77 goals in 92 senior internationals; Rooney has scored 28 in 74.