The comparison was offered up unprovoked. Wayne Rooney had been asked just how pivotal Raheem Sterling will be at St Jakob Park, the implication being that England should find any means to eke out space from their Swiss opponents to allow the teenager to flourish, when the captain veered slightly off-piste, his mind drifting back to the buildup to Brazil and the day he took the youngster under his wing.

England had convened in Portugal in preparation for the World Cup, with Sterling, who had only two caps and 171 minutes with the senior side, so impressive in Vale do Lobo that he already felt integral to what lay ahead. “He’s quite an unusual player, someone who can play right across the front line and out wide,” said Rooney. “Although he’s a small lad he’s really strong as well. I sat down with him before the World Cup and showed him videos of Marc Overmars. He reminds me of him.

“He’s a young lad, but the potential he has shown is incredible. In fact, he has the potential to be as good as Overmars. A fantastic player – you saw that last season and again, already, at the start of this one. He’ll be a massive player for us for the next 10-15 years and, unfortunately, also for Liverpool.”

For “videos” it is safe to assume the pair had logged on and perused YouTube clips of the Dutchman: diminutive, direct, right-footed and just as searingly quick when at his pomp with Ajax, Arsenal and Barcelona.

Whether Sterling recalled ever seeing the winger in the flesh is open to doubt. He was six when Overmars left London for Camp Nou for £25m, and 10 when he retired – leaving aside a brief return with Go Ahead Eagles four years later – after his spell in Catalonia. The initial blank look at the mention of a player who won 86 Holland caps must have made even Rooney feel old.

What is clear is how England, like Liverpool, are coming to lean upon the teenager’s precocious talent. Sterling had dazzled even in defeat by Italy back in Manaus and, if his displays in Brazil thereafter were more prone to the inconsistencies of youth, he was the national team’s best performer against Norway in midweek.

He was sprightly down either flank – all instinctive skill, clever movement with or without the ball and direct running – and combined slickly with Daniel Sturridge once he had infiltrated enemy territory. Late on, once Rooney had been retired to the bench, the 19-year-old was permitted to revel in a central role at the tip of a diamond, from where he had ripped Tottenham Hotspur to shreds just a few days earlier. Opponents must dread his darts, that low centre of gravity and surprising strength on the ball marking him out as more than a mere nuisance.

Rooney, of course, might have had an ulterior motive to bring up Overmars. After all, the Dutchman operated on the flank, his temptation always to burst beyond the full-back on the outside, pinned to the wing. Sterling’s instinct is to meander infield into those cluttered areas where his ability to twist and turn at pace drives clumsier opponents to distraction. The captain would probably prefer to operate as a No10, or as a slightly deeper-lying forward behind a lone striker yet, at present, the clamour is to deliver that role to the younger man.

That was the way England trained in Basel on Sunday evening, with Sterling operating behind Danny Welbeck and Rooney drifting towards the left when the team were forward-thinking in possession. Surrender the ball and that system may change.

Regardless, the onus is forever upon drawing out the teenager’s best given that he is in exhilarating form at the moment. He may also be the closest thing England have to an unknown quantity, for all his flashes in Brazil. He has yet to feature in the Champions League, even if the world is quickly growing accustomed to his qualities.

Switzerland, ranked No9 in the world, should not be too surprised by what he offers even if combating him is another matter. “They’re a very dangerous team in attack, with fast players and young players who can score out of anything,” offered their new manager, Vladimir Petkovic. Sterling was not mentioned by name, but there will be no Sturridge in Basel.

When Hodgson spoke of a new breed of player being developed in England – a generation of dribblers and athletes is coming up through the ranks – he may as well have pinned Sterling up as their trailblazer. England will hope he scars the locals to propel his team into their campaign.