Steven Gerrard believes the 2010 World Cup could be his last chance to win football's most coveted prize.
The Liverpool captain will be 30 by the time Fabio Capello's side compete in South Africa next summer - assuming there are no last-gasp hiccups in their qualifying group.
Gerrard conceded that he may be past his prime by the time of the 2014 finals.
And he will use that thought as a driving force for the double header with Kazakhstan away on Saturday and the home meeting with Andorra on June 10.
England already top their group and two more victories will put them on the verge of going through to the finals.
Gerrard said: "Will this be the last chance to qualify for a World Cup? I would say so. If we qualify, I'll be 30 when the finals come around.
"For me, it will be the last chance of doing well at a World Cup. Maybe by the time of the next one I might not be in my prime. That is a big motivation for me.
"We've now got these two important qualifiers coming up and if we want to play in the finals, we've got to get two good results.
"When we met up with the manager he said basically he wants the two wins to put us in the driving seat in the group. If we win these two games, we may possibly only need three more points.
"Of course, we know it will be warm in Kazakhstan and any international away from home is very difficult but there will be no excuses on our part.
"We should win these two games comfortably and put ourselves on the brink of going through."
Gerrard is also enjoying the new role given to him by Capello in interchanging with Wayne Rooney as the second striker.
Gerrard has operated effectively in that role at club level and it is a far cry from the days when he was often chosen to play on the left wing for his country.
He said: "The manager has put me there but with strict orders to interchange with Wayne.
"He wants me to pick up dangerous positions in a central area and not just on the left. I think he understands I'm not a left-winger.
"He sees the relationship with Wayne improving. We get on very well on and off the pitch and I think that partnership can certainly improve going forward."
Gerrard was proud to be voted the FWA Player of the Year but admits it did not make up for another trophy-less season at Anfield.
However, he feels Liverpool are closing the gap on Manchester United and is aware dropping too many points against teams they were expected to overrun cost them the title.
The 29-year-old said: "I wouldn't say being voted Player of the Year made up for not winning a trophy. It certainly helped from a personal point of view.
"But no player wants to finish the season without honours. For me the big challenge is to look forward and try and make sure there will be trophies in 12 months' time.
"We can look back at where we went wrong. That was drawing against teams who on paper we should have taken the three points against.
"But on the opposite side of the coin you get a lot of confidence from having gone to places like Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford and come away with a victory.
"What we have to do is use that sort of experience to try and go one better next season."
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