Hammers winger hails Gerrard

Gerrard gave a man of the match performance in the cup final last week that earned the Reds their seventh FA Cup. Etherington was a disappointed loser that day but afterwards called on Gerrard to repeat that performance for England at the World Cup.

"He was awesome. Those goals were unbelievable. He was probably the difference between the two sides. It's good for England in the World Cup. If he can produce that kind of form in Germany then England should go close," said the West Ham winger.

"He single-handedly dragged Liverpool back into the game. He scored the second goal and the third goal was unbelievable.

"To do it at that time in the game - that is why he is a world class player, one of the best midfielders in the world if not the best.

"We played well on the day and I think we deserved to win. Steven Gerrard hit a 30-yarder which was out of this world. Not another player in the world could have done what he did."