VIDEO: Sturridge Scores a Cracker as England Down Peru

Video courtesy of @MostarLFC

England got their World Cup preparations started in earnest yesterday evening with a 3-0 victory over Peru at Wembley Stadium. Though Roy’s men failed to inspire for large swathes of the match, you can exclude Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge from that blanket statement — and you can see why.

The 24-year old, who scored 21-Premier League goals for the Reds last campaign, kept his good run of form going by opening the scoring with a spectacular, curling effort from the edge of the box. England captain Steven Gerrard may constantly stress the importance of the team over the individual, but if not for this bit of solo skill from Sturridge, you’d be hard to pressed to find where the Three Lions would have found a breakthrough during the first half.

Despite the wealth of talent in the England set-up, the kind of belief that needs to be present in a side about to achieve great things just doesn’t seem to be there — though that didn’t look like stopping their new Number Nine as he shrugged off two defenders before letting fly from the edge of the area. Teamwork is paramount and few people would argue otherwise, but if England are going to make anything resembling a splash in Brazil this summer, it’s likely to come on the back of moments of individual brilliance just like this.