Emile Heskey believes midfielder Steven Gerrard can be England's lethal weapon in tomorrow's Euro 2004 showdown with France in the Estadio da Luz.

Heskey thinks his long-time Liverpool teammate has been in the best form of his career during the past campaign and can take that into the summer tournament.

Gerrard has a key role to play in the centre of midfield alongside Frank Lampard in a new-look partnership.

Heskey, who moved to Birmingham last month, said: ''It is important to have all the major players available - unlike for the 2002 World Cup - and Steven is one of those.

''He was a massive plus for Liverpool last season. With his engine and drive he was just brilliant and carried us a bit towards the end of the season.

''He was in the best form of his career at the end of the season and we are hoping he can carry that into the England squad. There is no reason why he shouldn't.

''Steven can be a star this summer. It is his time to really shine on this sort of stage and I think the French will be wary of him.

''He showed against the best in the Premiership what he is like and we have all played against Vieira, Henry etc so it is nothing we can't handle.

''It makes it a little bit easier that you know people inside-out.''

Heskey insists that it is vital England do not make a losing start but feels that the current squad has the kind of tournament experience that will prove crucial during the next three weeks.

He said: ''It is a massive game for us and I started to get excited about it even before the end of the season.

''The first game is so important and you've got to get off to a good start. It sets things up for the rest of the group.

''It's not the end of the world if you lose in that you can still qualify - but we don't want to be thinking like that.

''The good thing is that we've got the experience in this squad to handle the pressure. We showed it in the games leading up to now and we are going to show it on Sunday as well.

''It is a massive advantage that so many of us have played in big tournaments before. We know what is needed from us.

''We are probably stronger than before and the squad is still quite young considering a lot of them have played in quite a few tournaments.

''Hopefully we are at our peak. We are ready for this tournament and the preparation has been brilliant.''

Heskey is likely to start on the substitutes' bench behind Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney but is aware of the importance of himself and any fringe player being ready to enter the action at any stage of the competition.

He added: ''I want to do as well as I can. I might get a chance so I must be focused and ready to go at a second's notice. I can offer a different sort of option.

''From my point of view I certainly feel more relaxed after playing in a couple of tournaments previously."