Lampard was a major star in Portugal two years ago, proving his quality on the international stage with three goals as the Three Lions reached the quarter-finals.

It was a big contrast to 2002 when he was left out of the squad for the World Cup in Japan at the last minute.

That experience left him vowing to make it to the 2006 tournament and be one of England’s most important players when he got there.

He said: "That’s what you strive for. When I was on the fringes of the squad for the last World Cup squad I was craving to be a David Beckham or a Michael Owen or one of the main players.

"I do feel important now to the team and to the squad and I hope to make the kind of contribution one of those players should do. I enjoy it. It brings pressure but a good pressure and if you want to make your mark at the top level you have to handle that pressure.

"We’ve got a lot of players in our team who have the tag of world class or very good players and this is the stage where you have to reinforce that and show that and hopefully we can do that."

Lampard admits it was a painful process being left out four years ago but he certainly made amends in Portugal.

He added: "Euro 2004 was one of the favourite parts of my career. I felt confident, I felt it was going well for me. I wanted to get out there every game and keep scoring and keep being in a team that was doing well.

"Now I want the same in Germany. These are the tournaments you want to look back on at the end of your career and say 'I was successful' rather than thinking ‘I wish I could have done better in that World Cup or that European Championships’. People will gauge you on how you perform on those big occasions.

"We all know we stand on the brink of making history, making a name for yourself personally and as a team. We have got a great opportunity to do that in Germany."