As England prepare to face Portugal in the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 on Thursday night in Lisbon, the Liverpool mdfielder says he doesn’t want it to stop.

"I’m enjoying every minute of it, on and off the pitch," said Gerrard. "I was really disappointed to miss the World Cup, so really this is my first big tournament and is everything I expected – and more.

"Of course there are some butterflies before games, but that is down to excitement as much as nerves.

"The game against Portugal will be the biggest of my career so far, and I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully it will go well."

How does he see the game going? "We’ve been playing well, scoring plenty of goals from midfield and defending well in open play.

"We’re very confident and feel we can still step up a gear."

His Liverpool team-mate Michael Owen has yet to score, but Gerrard says: "I expect him to score goals, and it is no worry if he goes one or two games without a goal.

"He’s a goalscorer of the highest quality and a world-class footballer, and hopefully he’ll get a goal on Thursday and help us through to the semi-final."

And he has no worries about his fellow scouser Wayne Rooney, the star of the tournament so far.

Gerrard was his unofficial ‘minder’ when Rooney first joined up with England, but says: "He doesn’t need looking after any more.

"Wayne is handling it well, has settled in very well and matured a lot off the pitch. A lot of credit should go to David Moyes and the people around Wayne.

"He’s still young and we shouldn’t get too carried away and should let him mature.

"Already on current form he is one of the best players in the world at the moment and he is going to get even better. He is going to be a world-class player.

"He is setting such high standards on the pitch he has to expect all the fuss that comes with it."

And the same could be said of the whole England side, who are causing such anticipation both back home and in Portugal.

"The fans have been brilliant, behind us all the way even when things have gone against us, like the end of the France game.

"Portugal may have slightly more fans in the stadium on Thursday, but with ours there it feels like we are playing at home.

"We can’t wait to get going. We took confidence from the Swiss game going into the match against Croatia and played really well. And the boys still feel we can get better."

To listen to the full press conference with Steven, click on one of the links below.

23 June 2004  
Steven Gerrard Press Conference - AUDIO

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