Sven-Goran Eriksson has pleaded with the English press not to ruin Wayne Rooney and make him the scapegoat for England's World Cup exit at the hands of Portugal.

Rooney was sent off early in the second half of the clash in Gelsenkirchen and Eriksson fears that the striker may suffer the same fate as David Beckham did in 1998 after his dismissal against Argentina.

Eriksson told reporters: "I think that you, much more than me, need Wayne Rooney.

"He is the golden boy of English football, so don't kill him.

"If he did it with intention or not, leave it - you need him for the qualification games and to win Euro 2008. I have no hard feelings.

"I'm sure Wayne Rooney does more good things than bad things. He has a temperament, you have to live with that.

"I have spoken to him about it in the past, but I always said you can't take the temperament away from Wayne Rooney, because then he wouldn't be that kind of player.

"I am absolutely sure that Rooney will come back from this, but make it easier for him to come back than you did with David Beckham. You need him and he's a fantastic football player."