Gerrard reveals his England heartbreak

The inspirational midfielder has lifted almost every trophy available during his career at Anfield, but international glory has eluded him at five major tournaments.

With the Three Lions preparing for a crucial Group H double-header against San Marino and Montenegro in the days to come, the 32-year-old has reflected candidly on his desire to reach the samba shores next year.

"It's a must for me to qualify from a personal, selfish point of view. An absolute must," he insisted to the Daily Mirror.

"On one level, it's about the chance to compete against the best sides and individuals on the planet. On another, it's about having that small chance of coming back as heroes in an England shirt, which I have never experienced.

"I have dreamt about it of course. I am sure everyone has. I have got close to it. Penalty shoot-outs in the last eight are close but not close enough.

"I don't feel I have done myself justice at a World Cup. I don't think any England player of this generation can think they have.

"If you spoke to the squad that came back after 1990, they could be satisfied with how close they came and that they did everything they could and had no regrets.

"But I have always come out of the tournaments with England with regrets that we haven't gone to that extra stage, the last four or the last two.

"I take some of the responsibility for that. I have always been honest and said I am part of that squad of 23 players that comes back having underachieved.

"You can't hide behind anyone, you have got to take it on the chin and get on with it."

Gerrard became only the sixth player in England history to make 100 appearances for the national team when he featured against Sweden in November 2012.

The midfielder has also been an ever-present for Liverpool in the Barclays Premier League this season - a scenario he doubted would occur several years ago.

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Gerrard continued: "Two or three years ago, the way my body was feeling, I never thought I would make this World Cup.

"Since I have got my groins sorted out, my form for England in the last 12 months has improved.

"I'm not the type of player that can play with injuries or problems and blank them out. I like to go on to the pitch feeling strong and healthy.

"I'm excited and I feel strong and I feel I can make a contribution if we make it to Brazil and that's the reason I feel like it's a must."

Given San Marino's world ranking of 207th, the tougher challenge for Roy Hodgson's team is expected to come when they travel to Montenegro on Tuesday.

Gerrard has warned against overconfidence in Podgorica but claimed that England have progressed since a quarter-final exit at Euro 2012 last summer.

"We have to get the balance right between being confident about going there and getting the result we want and being in any way over-confident," he added.

"It would be a schoolboy error for any of us to go into the game against Montenegro thinking it will be a stroll in the park.

"It is a responsibility of mine to make sure that none of the players are underestimating this because this will be a tough game in a hostile atmosphere.

"The result could go either way depending on how we approach it. Can you win the game? Yeah. Could we lose it? Yeah.

"The danger with England is that after a result like the one against Brazil, everyone gets carried away.

"Everyone starts assuming we've already qualified for 2014 and before you know it, people will be talking about us as one of the favourites.

"That type of thinking is dangerous. It wasn't so long ago we had a lot of criticism for not keeping the ball well enough against Italy in Kiev.

"Things are moving forward. Things are progressing well. The manager's doing the right things and creating the right atmosphere.

"But at this level it can change in an instant - one bad result, one bad team performance and the nation can lose a lot of confidence in the team.

"The next two games are about trying to ensure that doesn't happen."