Wilshere felt 'so sorry' for Gerrard after early 2014 World Cup exit

11/19/2022

‘The energy just drained away from him’: Jack Wilshere reveals he felt ‘so sorry’ for Steven Gerrard after his mistake vs Uruguay led to England’s early exit at 2014 World Cup, saying ‘it was tough to see your leader like that’

England exited the 2014 World Cup without winning a game in their group
Their fate was sealed after they lost their second group match against Uruguay
Steven Gerrard made the error for Uruguay’s winning goal in that game
Jack Wilshere has revealed he felt ‘so sorry’ for his captain after that loss
Wilshere has said the ‘energy drained away’ from Gerrard following his mistake
Click here for the latest World Cup 2022 news, fixtures, live action and results

Jack Wilshere has revealed he was left feeling ‘so sorry’ for Steven Gerrard after his error against Uruguay led to England exiting the 2014 World Cup at the group stage.

The former Arsenal midfielder only got to compete at one World Cup, with injuries curtailing his career, but his time on the biggest stage was cut short as England went out after losing their opening two matches in Brazil.

Wilshere came on as a late substitute in England’s 2-1 defeat against Italy in the opening game, but could only watch on from the bench as the Three Lions lost by the same scoreline to Uruguay four days later.

Steven Gerrard’s error allowed Luis Suarez to score, and England exited in the group stage

Jack Wilshere has revealed he felt ‘so sorry’ for his captain after his costly mistake

Uruguay’s late winner came after Gerrard headed the ball into the path of Luis Suarez, who found the net emphatically, and Wilshere has admitted that mistake badly affected Gerrard, who captained England during the tournament.

‘We lost the game against Uruguay that we couldn’t really afford to lose and Stevie G gave a goal away when he headed it on to Luis Suarez for their winner,’ Wilshere wrote in his column for The Sun.

‘Like Beckham, Stevie G was an idol of mine, so to be in the same England World Cup squad as him was a big thrill — but I ended up feeling so sorry for him.

‘He was our captain and leader of the group. He had been fantastic with me but, after that game, the energy just drained away from him.

‘We were out and he’d given a goal away. He wasn’t really a loud type, he led by the examples he set.

Gerrard called time on his international career after the World Cup in Brazil

‘Me, Danny Welbeck and Luke Shaw had watched him as one of England’s best players as we grew up. We looked up to him.

‘However, you could see in his demeanour that he was very low and it was tough to see your leader like that. He’d been through it before at World Cups and this was the end for him.

‘So my overriding feeling was I felt sorry for him, I really did. But that’s what tournaments like this can do to you.’

Harry Kane will hope to fare better with the armband when England play Iran on Monday

Gerrard came off the bench in England’s final game of the group, a forgettable 0-0 draw against Costa Rica. That would prove to be the final of his 114 caps for his country.

Four years later, England fared much better in Russia, making it to the semi-finals. Captain Harry Kane picked up the Golden Boot after scoring six goals, including a hat-trick against Panama.

Kane will lead Gareth Southgate’s side again in Qatar, with England beginning their World Cup campaign against Iran on Monday.

Share this article

Source: Read Full Article