Roy Hodgson revealed on Monday that the three most famous Englishmen to his mind were "William Shakespeare, John Lennon and Bobby Moore''.

Hodgson's verdict lends even more lustre to the achievement of his captain, Steven Gerrard, who wins his 108th cap on Tuesday, equalling the total of the late, great Moore.

Moore's name is never far from the lips or thoughts of the England players, staff or supporters. Gerrard and his side know that 1966 will always be the unforgiving benchmark against which they are judged.

Everyone sees the statue of Moore standing guard outside Wembley. Everyone who goes to Wembley is aware of the Moore legacy.

When The Killers appeared there in June, a huge picture of Moore appeared on the screen above the stage and the lead singer, Brandon Flowers, proclaimed him as the greatest man ever to play at Wembley.

The 70,000-strong crowd went crazy. Even 47 years on, even at a music event, Moore is revered.

Hodgson's personal acclaim for Moore was echoed by Gerrard. "I'm very proud and slightly embarrassed as well,'' admitted Gerrard, who leads England out against Germany in the most emotive of the friendly fixtures to celebrate the Football Association's 150th anniversary.

"He's a World Cup winner and an iconic figure. He's a hero to everyone in the country. I'm very humbled to get to 108 caps alongside Bobby Moore.'"

Hodgson's salute to Shakespeare, Lennon and Moore came a day after he delighted a German audience by telling them that three of the Germans he most admired were Franz Beckenbauer, Angela Merkel and Thomas Mann.

Speaking at the Grove on Monday, far from German ears, Hodgson admitted: "I've only read two Thomas Mann novels in my life and had to give one of them up after 10 pages. It was Dr Faustus. It was too difficult for me! I thought they might like the name of Thomas Mann so I slung it in there.'"

Daniel Sturridge left Colney early, sparking fears that he was feeling his "lingering" thigh niggle, but the Liverpool striker will start alongside Rooney.

"The doctors tell me he's fit enough to play,'' said Hodgson. "I will expect him to play the amount I think I need to see him and it won't be 90 minutes - not because I don't think he's capable of playing 90 minutes, but because I want to see Rickie Lambert.''

Gerrard's England landmarks.

1st cap v Ukraine, May 2000, Wembley, Won 2-0.

10th cap v Paraguay, April 2002, Won 4-0, Anfield.

20th cap v Liechtenstein, September 2003, Old Trafford, Won 2-0.

30th cap v Austria, September 2004, Vienna, Drew 2-2.

40th cap v Uruguay, March 2006, Old Trafford, Won 2-1.

50th cap v Macedonia, October 2006, Skopje, Won 1-0.

60th cap v Estonia, October 2007, Wembley, Won 3-0.

70th cap v Belarus, October 2008, Minsk, Won 3-1.

80th cap v Japan, May 2010, Graz, Won 2-1.

90th cap v Holland, February 2012, Wembley, Lost 2-3.

100th cap v November 2012, Sweden, Stockholm, Lost 2-4.

Source: Daily Telegraph