England

Steven Gerrard not getting carried away by England form

By Steven Toplis, Reporter | 02 September 2015

Former England skipper Steven Gerrard says that the qualification campaign for Euro 2016 is not a fair indicator of the team's progress.

Former England captain Steven Gerrard has said that the team's qualification campaign for Euro 2016 is not a fair barometer of their progress.

Roy Hodgson's side have a perfect record in Group E, having won all six of their games, and they could book their place at next summer's finals in France by beating San Marino in their next qualifier.

Gerrard, who skippered the Three Lions as they exited last year's World Cup in the group stage, has said that qualification will not fully prepare the players for the pressure of the tournament itself.

"I'm experienced enough not to get carried away at the moment," the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder told the Daily Mail.

"With respect to the other teams in the group, England should be beating them and beating them comfortably.

"So we'll have to wait to see how far the team has come and how much Roy has improved them. And that will be in 2016. I don't believe he'll know until next year.

"With due respect, everyone knew we were going to come out of the group. The team have done well to win whatever's been put in front of them. They've done it in style and played well but, for me, the test this England team has had was against Italy, when they drew. The next test will be in 2016 when they come up against strong opposition."

England face San Marino on Saturday before hosting Switzerland next Tuesday.