Roy Hodgson urges Steven Gerrard not to reject call of duty

Manager wants his captain to continue playing for England beyond next summer's World Cup in Brazil

Steven Gerrard playing for England last year (Getty)

Roy Hodgson will seek to persuade Steven Gerrard to continue to play for England after the World Cup. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers this week suggested his captain would retire after next summer’s tournament to concentrate on his club game. Gerrard, who will draw level with Bobby Moore on 108 caps when he leads England out against Chile at Wembley on Friday, will be 34 when the tournament ends.

“Steven probably looks at this as his last international year and after the World Cup that will be all finished and he will have time to rest,” said Rodgers. Very few players, added Rodgers, go to major tournaments past the age of 34. Frank Lampard, however, will be 36 in June and looks like going to Brazil.

Gerrard has been to three European Championships and two World Cups but is yet to get past the quarter-finals. If England show promise this summer he is sure to be tempted by the prospect of leading a vibrant young team, backed by huge travelling support, across the Channel to France for the 2016 European Championships.

“As a coach I would always be trying to keep the players I think are the best players still available for England,” said Hodgson. “So if after the World Cup - and hopefully he has had a good World Cup - Steven says he is wants to retire and I think, ‘Don’t do that, carry on’, I would be more than happy to have that conversation. Players make those statements, but they can change their mind.”