Stevie's magic England moments
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard becomes a centurion for his country this evening, as the midfielder makes his 100th appearance for England in their friendly against Sweden.
To mark the occasion, which quickly follows the 32-year-old reaching 600 games for the Reds, Liverpoolfc.com looks back on five of Gerrard's finest moments in a Three Lions jersey.
May 31, 2000 (London) - England 2-0 Ukraine (Friendly)
In their final home friendly encounter before departing for Euro 2000, England manager Kevin Keegan handed an international debut to Gerrard, who impressed enough during his 82 minutes to earn a spot in the squad for the tournament in Belgium and Holland. Then team-mate Robbie Fowler was on the scoresheet against Ukraine at Wembley, and joined Gerrard on the plane - as did Emile Heskey and Michael Owen - although the Reds quartet could not prevent England from suffering a group-stage exit. Gerrard enjoyed one substitute appearance during the competition, coming on for the last half-hour as Keegan's side downed Germany 1-0.
September 1, 2001 (Munich) - Germany 1-5 England (2002 World Cup qualifier)
With Swedish boss Sven-Goran Eriksson now at the helm following Keegan's resignation earlier in the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign, England produced one of the greatest performances in the country's modern football history - and it was a win inspired by Liverpool. All five goals were provided by Reds players, with Owen bagging a superb hat-trick supplemented by further strikes from Gerrard and Heskey. The midfielder's effort proved particularly crucial, putting England 2-1 up in first-half added time with a rasping drive from the edge of the box. The three points helped England secure a place at Korea/Japan, but Gerrard would unfortunately not be there due to injury.
September 9, 2009 (London) - England 5-1 Croatia (2010 World Cup qualifier)
Just under two years after Croatia had dumped England out of Euro 2008 qualification with a stunning 3-2 triumph at Wembley, the Three Lions - now managed by Fabio Capello - gained a measure of revenge. Gerrard converted two headers as England thrashed their opponents for the second time in the group, having also hammered Slaven Bilic's team 4-1 in Zagreb 12 months previously. England were on their way to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, giving Gerrard another opportunity to showcase his ability on the biggest stage.
June 12, 2010 (Rustenburg) - England 1-1 USA (2010 World Cup)
As has been customary throughout his career, Gerrard did not wait long to grasp that chance to shine. Less than four minutes into England's opening match of the tournament, Gerrard burst onto a clever through ball from former Reds teammate Heskey and guided a shot beyond Tim Howard to kickstart the Three Lions' journey in South Africa. It would get no better, however, as England struggled to perform and, having scraped into the Round of 16, were humiliated 4-1 by old rivals Germany. On a personal level, Gerrard did, though, enjoy the experience of leading his country through a World Cup as captain.
June 2012 (Poland and Ukraine) - England (Euro 2012)
Again wearing the skipper's armband as England entered a major international tournament, Gerrard was the beating inspiration of Roy Hodgson's side at Euro 2012. Driving his team forward from a central midfield position, the Reds superstar created three goals for teammates as England progressed to a quarter-final meeting with Italy. After 120 goalless minutes in Kiev, Gerrard stroked home the first penalty, but the Three Lions' Achilles heel was their undoing again as the nation watched another shoot-out heartbreak. Gerrard was left to console himself with being named in the team of the tournament selected by UEFA.