Steven Gerrard once admitted he felt awkward playing for England due to ‘hatred’ for two teammates

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Despite having some of the best players in the world at the time, England’s ‘golden generation’ never lived up to expectations.The international break is upon us and for some fans, this can be seen as an unnecessary pause in the season that disrupts the flow of the Premier League. However, this one sees teams take part in World Cup qualifiers, with England taking on Latvia as they try to edge closer to making the tournament.Although they are expected to qualify with ease, many do not expect the Three Lions to go all the way despite having one of the best teams in the world.This is because many believe they have had better teams in the past, with their ‘golden generation’ the prime example of this.But, they failed to win anything and let many people down, although Steven Gerrard once revealed that he hated playing with two players in particular, perhaps a key reason why the team flopped.Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty ImagesSteven Gerrard blames the Premier League rivalry on England floppingGerrard was the beating heart of the Liverpool team across his 17-year career, with the former captain the definition of ‘playing for the badge’.However, many players on rival teams would do the same back in those days, with players quite literally despising each other due to playing for different clubs.So when they were all brought together at national team level, it is safe to say that things were a little tense, and Gerrard even admitted back in 2017 that he felt awkward representing his country due to the ‘hatred’ he had for the Man United stars.“When you’re lining up in the tunnel against Rio [Ferdinand] and Gary Neville you want to do everything in your power to beat them – there’s hatred there, that’s exactly how it is,” he once told The Mirror.“When you meet up for England at that time, you pretend you like them – but your career finishes, their career finishes and your friendship starts for real.

READ MORE: Dirk Kuyt once revealed the key part he played in bringing Luis Suarez to Liverpool“I’ve got nothing but respect for Rio as a player, played for a top club all his life, he’s a good fella as well.”It was the same case with the players who came from Chelsea, with the combination of all three a clear indication of why things did not work out.Thomas Tuchel needs to keep the team togetherNo matter the opinion anyone has on Gareth Southgate, there is no doubting that he brought the England players closer together and they all respected him a lot.This is not easy at all and many managers tried and failed at doing this, proving just how good a job he did.But now, Thomas Tuchel is tasked with trying to do just that, something that might prove difficult due to his ruthless nature.England may not have the likes of Gerrard, Paul Scholes or Frank Lampard anymore, but all in all, team cohesion might just be their best shot at winning something for the first time since 1966.