Brendan Rodgers has backed two of his Liverpool stars for England's World Cup squad - if they can keep up the good form shown in recent performances for the Reds.
The Anfield boss picked out both Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling for praise following their individual displays in the Merseyside derby win over Everton on Tuesday.
And with England assistant manager Ray Lewington watching on from the sidelines at Anfield, Rodgers feels the pair certainly caught the eye with Under-21s winger Sterling first to draw praise.
Sterling has been a regular for England Under-21s this season.
"Raheem has barely had a mention for his performance the other night,” he said.
"He has been outstanding in the last few games and if you watched him the other night, he was so dangerous with his pace.
"And for a young player who has just turned 19, his tactical awareness of the game was very, very good.
"Him and Jon Flanagan on that side - one of their roles was to block up that space against Steven Pienaar and Leighton Baines and as well as doing that, going the other way he [Sterling] was outstanding, so I'm sure Ray would have gone away really pleased.”
Henderson’s midfield partnership with England captain Steven Gerrard at Anfield is also encouraging for Rodgers and England.
The former Sunderland player already has seven caps to his name and was in Hodgson’s squad to face Chile and Germany last November.
Henderson and Gerrard have worked well together at Anfield.
And Rodgers backs the 23-year-old to force his way into the reckoning for Brazil with the way his game is developing.
"I think he [Lewington] is looking at Jordan and probably thinking that he is a player who is improving every time he sees him,” added Rodgers.
"He had real discipline in the game, looks so composed now on the ball, has great stature and how he presses is fantastic, allowing the others to play. He is real clever now in how he presses the game.
"Jordan is an outstanding talent and is getting better, and I'm sure when Ray was at the game, he would have been really impressed by those two players."
