Football
ESPN staff 10y

Gerrard: Sturridge can star at World Cup

Steven Gerrard has tipped Liverpool and England teammate Daniel Sturridge to be one of the stars of the 2014 World Cup.

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Gerrard has been impressed by the form that has seen Sturridge score 12 goals in his last 12 games for club and country, including the Three Lions' winner in the 1-0 friendly win against Denmark last Wednesday.

And while Sturridge is yet to fully find his feet on the international stage in the same way he has done at Anfield, his captain for club and country is in little doubt that he has the talent to have a major impact this summer in Brazil.

“Daniel's got the world at his feet and he can be whatever he wants to be if he keeps working hard,” Gerrard told the Football Association’s official website.

“His form has been scintillating this season and, to see him close up in training, I see what qualities he's got.

“Everyone will be looking for [Luis] Suarez, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, the usual suspects, to stand up and be the star of the tournament, but Daniel is certainly capable to go and star at this World Cup.”

Another of Gerrard’s Liverpool teammates, Suarez, will be an opponent during the World Cup.

And although Gerrard insists that the Uruguay striker is among the best five players in the world, he says their friendship will be forgotten when England face the South American nation in Sao Paulo on June 19.

“I'd rather play on the same team as him, of course I would. He's a world-class player who can give problems to any opposition he comes up against," Gerrard said.

“I know him well, I know his strengths and I know the very few weaknesses that he has but I'm looking forward to competing against him.

“When you play with players domestically they're your teammates, you protect them and you do everything you can to win together.

“We both know that when the whistle goes against Uruguay the friendship goes out of the window for 90 minutes and we both fight for our countries, but I can't speak highly enough of Luis as a player, he's up there, for me, in the top five players in the world.”

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