On This Day: Steven Gerrard retires from England duty

| 21 July 2021

On This Day: Steven Gerrard retires from England duty

Steven Gerrard, then 34, won 114 caps for the Three Lions over a 14-year period and captained the side on 38 occasions.

England and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard announced his retirement from international football on this day in 2014.

Gerrard, then 34, won 114 caps for the Three Lions over a 14-year period and captained the side on 38 occasions.

He was the third most-capped England player of all time behind Peter Shilton (125) and David Beckham (115) and has since been surpassed by Wayne Rooney (120).

Gerrard scored a total of 21 goals for England (Nick Potts/PA)

Gerrard had led the national side in that summer's World Cup in Brazil, which saw them exit the tournament after finishing bottom of their group.

When making his announcement, Gerrard said: "This has been a very difficult decision, one of the toughest I've had to make in my career.

"I have agonised over this since coming back from Brazil and have spoken to family, friends and people close to me in the game before coming to this point.

"To ensure I can keep playing to a high level and giving everything to Liverpool Football Club I believe this is the right decision, and having Champions League football back at Anfield is another big factor in my decision."

Gerrard, centre, shows his emotions at the end of his last match for England against Costa Rica at the 2014 World Cup (Mike Egerton/PA)

Gerrard won his first cap in a 2-0 win over Ukraine in 2000 and his last in a 0-0 draw with Costa Rica at the 2014 World Cup, scoring 21 goals in total and representing his country at six major tournaments.

He went on to complete another season with Liverpool, making 41 appearances in all competitions during the 2014-15 campaign, before leaving Anfield and joining Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy.

Gerrard ended his 19-year playing career when announcing his retirement in November 2016.