Euro Whites: Daniel Sturridge

European Championships: 1 (EURO 2016)

Best Stage Reached: ROUND-OF-16 

Tournament Appearances: 3

Tournament Goals: 1

England's match-winner against Wales, Daniel Sturridge provided a rare highlight for Three Lions supporters as Roy Hodgson’s side suffered a shock round-of-16 exit at the hands of Iceland at Euro 2016 earlier this summer.

His country’s lead striker at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, two injury-plagued seasons had seen the forward slip down the national side pecking order with Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy and Marcus Rashford all staking their claims alongside captain Wayne Rooney.

Starting his career with Manchester City following stints in Aston Villa and Coventry City’s respective academies, he made his professional debut for the club as a substitute against Reading in February 2007.

Maiden senior and Premier League goals came against Sheffield United and Derby County within days of each other following January, with the striker then cementing his place in the City squad during the 2008/09 season.

Joining Chelsea in July 2009, Sturridge featured sporadically in his first campaign in the capital but still finished the year as a Premier League and FA Cup double-winner, coming on as a late substitute in the Blues’ FA Cup Final victory over Portsmouth.

With his first team opportunities still limited the following season, he moved to Bolton Wanderers on loan in January 2011.

Making an immediate impact by scoring a last-minute winner on his debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the forward scored in each of his first four appearances for the club, and finished his half-season stay at the Reebok Stadium with eight goals from 12 appearances.

Returning to Chelsea after his highly-successful loan spell, he represented England Under-21s as that summer’s European Championships and was named in the team of the tournament despite the young Lions suffering a group-stage exit.

First choice for Chelsea under new manager Andre Villas-Boas, Sturridge impressed enough to be handed his international debut by Fabio Capello in November 2011, coming off the bench as England claimed a 1-0 friendly victory over Sweden.

Falling out of favour under Villas-Boas’ replacement Roberto Di Matteo, the forward finished the campaign with 13 goals and was an unused substitute in both Chelsea’s FA Cup and Champions League Final victories over Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

Having been named on standby for England’s Euro 2012 squad, he instead represented Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics that summer.

Substituted at half-time as Team GB opened the tournament with a 1-1 draw against Senegal, the forward came off the bench to score in their second outing as they recorded a 3-1 victory over the United Arab Emirates.

Restored to the starting line-up for Team GB’s final group game, Sturridge scored the only goal of the game as they progressed to the knockout stages as group-winners.

However, facing off against South Korea in the quarter-finals, he missed the decisive spot-kick as Team GB exited the competition 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Still out of favour at Chelsea the following season, the forward joined Liverpool in a £12m deal in January 2013 and made an immediate impact, scoring seven minutes into his debut against Mansfield Town as well as on his Premier League debut for the Reds against Manchester United.

Following an impressive start to life at Anfield, Sturridge began to replicate that form at international level as he came off the bench to score his first England goal in an 8-0 2014 World Cup qualifying victory over San Marino in March 2013. 

After netting 11 goals from just 16 games, including a first senior hat-trick against Fulham in May 2013, the forward carried on where he left off heading into 2013/14 as he established himself as one of the country’s deadliest finishers.

Marking his first England start with a goal in a 4-1 qualifying victory over Montenegro, he finished the season with 24 goals as Liverpool narrowly missed out on winning the Premier League title, finishing second behind Manchester City.

England’s first choice striker for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil that summer having netted in friendly victories over Peru and Denmark, Sturridge was again on the scoresheet in the Three Lions’ opening game as they lost 2-1 to Italy.

An ever-present throughout the tournament for Hodgson’s side as they suffered a shock group-stage exit, he completed the full 90 minutes in their remaining group games as they were eliminated after losing 2-1 to Uruguay before drawing 0-0 with Costa Rica.

Picking up a thigh injury on international duty following the tournament, he missed the majority of the next two seasons through recurring injuries with his next cap coming against the Netherlands in March 2016.

Still on the scoresheet for Liverpool when available, the forward enjoyed an impressive second half of the 2015/16 season to re-establish himself, scoring 13 goals from 25 games as the Reds lost in both the League Cup and Europa League Final - including a memorable strike in the latter against Sevilla.

Named in the England squad for Euro 2016 as a result despite missing their entire qualification campaign, his place came under question as another injury saw him miss the Three Lions’ first two warm-up friendlies.

Returning as a late substitute in their last game before the tournament against eventual finalists Portugal, Sturridge was unused as England opened their campaign in France with a 1-1 draw against Russia.

However, he grabbed his opportunity with both hands after being introduced as half-time substitute as they trailed in their next outing against Wales, scoring a last-minute winner to provide England’s moment of the tournament.

Named in the starting XI for the Three Lions’ final group game as they drew 0-0 with Slovakia to progress in the competition, the forward retained his place for their round-of-16 clash with Iceland, but was unable to make the difference as England lost 2-1 to suffer an embarrassing exit.

Now heading into 2018 Russia World Cup qualification in September, Sturridge will be desperate to prove his injuries are a thing of the past as he looks to re-establish himself as England’s number one striker.