Friday 22 March 2013 15:31, UK
Steven Gerrard insists playing for England is the 'pinnacle', but would not be drawn on Rio Ferdinand's decision to withdraw from the squad for the World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro.
England are expected to comfortably beat San Marino away from home after recording a 5-0 victory at Wembley earlier in the qualifying campaign. However, Gerrard can still recall the Euro 2008 qualifier against rank outsiders Andorra in Barcelona when England were ridiculed by their own fans after a goalless first half before winning 3-0. The midfielder said "The pressure grows (against such sides) and the fans get frustrated which adds to the pressure. Then you get more tense, so it's about us getting that breakthrough as early as we can. "We know they will be happy to stop us and keep the scoreline down. "They'll slow the game down, give stupid fouls away, get onto the referee - basically do anything they can to stop us scoring. "I am sure their plan will stay the same for 90 minutes - it certainly did at Wembley. "But in any case, if we don't win the game by more than four goals, we'll get it (criticism) anyway."
