Sturridge sets sights on Euros

Published Oct. 16, 2011 3:15 p.m. ET

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Sturridge bagged his fourth goal in as many Premier League games to help Chelsea break their Everton hoodoo and keep up their 100% record at Stamford Bridge this term. The clamour for Sturridge to be handed his maiden international call-up is growing, with the 22-year-old emerging as a real contender to fill the void left by Wayne Rooney's suspension for the Euro 2012 group stage. Sturridge has certainly been one of the stars of 2011, shining in a loan spell at Bolton and emerging as a rare plus from England's dismal European Under-21 Championship before maintaining his form during pre-season. A three-match ban at the start of the current campaign failed to halt his momentum, and it is becoming more and more perverse that he has yet to be called upon by Fabio Capello. That will surely change during England's friendly double-header against Spain and Sweden next month, with Capello having already indicated he will use the games to blood more youngsters. Acknowledging a place in the squad for next summer's finals in Poland and Ukraine was up for grabs, Sturridge said: "Everyone would love to get on the plane, I'm no different. "I just want to focus on working hard for Chelsea and playing every game and hope that the England manager chooses me to go. "I want to go to the Euros and it would be great for me to get selected, but I'm not worried about the pressure being put on me because I've been working hard doing my thing. "I've not been selected for England yet, so I don't think there's any pressure on myself to do anything. "Hopefully, in the future, it does happen because it would be great for me - it would be a dream come true." Sturridge's latest goal owed everything to Juan Mata, who was once again Chelsea's inspiration yesterday as they cruised to a 3-1 win against their bogey side. The Blues had not beaten Everton since the 2009 FA Cup final, and had gone more than five years without a Premier League victory against them at Stamford Bridge. But the Toffees had not had to contend with £23.5million man Mata, who also set up Chelsea's third goal by Ramires after John Terry had made it 2-0. Manager Andre Villas-Boas withdrew Mata to a standing ovation 13 minutes from time, and must now decide whether to unleash his skills on Genk in Wednesday's night's Champions League clash. Chelsea should be able to win without their new talisman against the Belgian runners-up, who are on a run of three straight defeats. Fernando Torres will be hoping to be handed a recall in the midst of his three-match domestic ban, with Villas-Boas hinting the striker would definitely play a part on Wednesday. "If we don't decide on him, it will be long time out of the game," he said. "But he has been keeping fit in training and played for Spain. "It's just a decision we have to make, bearing in mind what we want for the team."