London, May 31 (IANS) Former England captain Steven Gerrad has admitted that his country’s golden generation failed to deliver on its talent. Gerrard, who quit international football after the 2014 FIFA World Cup, was part of an era that included stars like David Beckham, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand.
But after Euro 1996, England never went further than the quarter-finals of either the World Cup or European Championships.
“There is a frustration when I look back on my England career,” Gerrard, who won 114 caps for his country, was quoted as saying by mirror.co.uk on Saturday.
“I look at some of those penalty shoot-outs we lost and see how close we got to progressing to certain semi-finals — and then from there you never know what would have happened,” the former Liverpool star added.
“I have got no excuses because the stage was there to go and do it. But unfortunately we just fell a bit short.
“I certainly don’t regret playing for England or turning up and giving it a go because I loved every minute of it. But there is a sense of frustration — we had opportunities to do much better.”
Gerrard, 35, insists that the future is bright for England. He believes that Roy Hodgson’s men — including the likes of Raheem Sterling — will have nothing to fear at Euro 2016.
“England will surprise a few in France. I know you have heard it all before. But I look at the other teams going into that tournament and not many of them scare me that much.
“I just think that somewhere down the line England will get that bit of luck where they will get through a quarter-final. So fingers crossed for them, I hope they will do well.”