Sturridge eyeing 'beautiful feeling' of Euros goal
Daniel Sturridge says he is desperate for the 'beautiful feeling' of scoring at a major tournament again ahead of England kicking off their Euro 2016 campaign.
The striker is part of Roy Hodgson's squad for this summer's tournament in France, along with four of his Reds teammates.
And he is hoping to add to his group-stage strike against Italy at the World Cup in 2014 by netting again on the international stage.
"It would be great," Sturridge said. "It was a beautiful feeling to score in the World Cup and it would be nice to score some goals here as well.
"For myself it’s important to go against everyone with the same mentality."
Sturridge is one of five centre-forwards in the Three Lions' 23, with Jamie Vardy, Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford also competing for a place.
But the 26-year-old insists he thrives in such circumstances, and says the mood in the camp is better than he has ever known.
"Competition is fierce at every club you play at as well as at international level," he said. "So for me I’m used to it, I thrive off it and I love it.
"The feeling is great. Its probably a bit more relaxed than before. the group is younger. We’re just ready to go. It feels different.
"I think there’s a togetherness around the camp and at the hotel. it’s great to be a part of it. We’re preparing well."
England have never won the opening fixture of a European Championship campaign but Sturridge believes that record is there to be broken.
"Stats are stats, the past is the past," he added. "We’re not looking into that. There are top class players in every position. We have younger players, more senior players, players like myself in between.
"We’re very prepared. the management team have put in a lot of work. we will have no excuses because we have all the information that we need.
"Everyone is so happy. it’s the best I’ve experienced.
"I don’t see why we can’t be successful because we’re young, I don’t think age has anything to do with it, it’s how we play as a team.
"We know what we have to do. We know that there’s going to be a lot of eyes on us because we’re England. I don’t feel there is any pressure on us. I feel like we will enjoy the occasion.
"It’s a young squad, and that’s a strength it’s not a weakness."