Sturridge determined to use England U21s as a springboard to a senior call-up

Daniel Sturridge is determined to use the European Under-21 Championship to break into the senior England side next season.

Several of Fabio Capello's current squad made the step up after starring at previous tournaments and the same is likely to happen following this month's finals in Denmark.

With many of England's recent performances leaving much to be desired, the next three weeks look like being an ideal opportunity for the next generation to prove they are ready to help revive the national team's fortunes.

Sturridge is arguably at the front of the queue, with the Chelsea striker having enjoyed a stellar second half of the season on loan at Bolton.

He has also scored in his last two England Under-21 appearances, including yesterday's 2-0 win over Norway in the final warm-up friendly before Sunday's European Championship opener against Spain.

Sturridge said: 'At the last tournament in Sweden two years ago, the Germans had four or five players who went on to play in the World Cup.

'It just shows that if you have a good tournament with the under-21s, it can be the platform to get into the full national side. I'm sure a lot of players will have that in the backs of their minds.'

Winning the European Championship would help Sturridge and his team-mates in that aim.

England are the continent's number one-ranked team and will be expected at least to match the runner-up finish they managed two years ago.

Sturridge said: 'Without any pressure on us, we can do well. The most important thing is to enjoy it and not have any pressure of people saying we're going to win it.'