England v Brazil: Steven Gerrard urges England fans to treat Ashley Cole with respect when he wins his 100th cap There have been years over the last 10 or 12 where Ashley has been the best left-back in the world. I think the supporters realised that as well and let's hope they give him a fantastic reception. It was a great feeling for me to get into that hundred club and I know what Ashley's going to be feeling. Speaking after being voted England player of the year at a Football Association awards ceremony at St George's Park, Gerrard identified the trip to Montenegro on March 26 as the decisive fixture in World Cup qualifying. He said: "To play Brazil at Wembley is fantastic but there's already a little bit in the mind that's waiting for the Montenegro game because it is going to be a key game. With all due respect to San Marino it's a game we'd be expected to win comfortably. Montenegro is a massive game but if we can keep everyone in that list of 25 fit I'm really confident we can go there and get three points. That would put us back in the driving seat. Gerrard also shed light on why he, Frank Lampard and Cole had not retired after the defeat to Italy at Euro 2012. I look back with frustration and a bit of disappointment because to go out in a penalty shoot-out in the last eight - we wanted to change the record. It's happened too many times now since I've been involved. But I look at this squad and I think you'll agree it's the strongest 25 Roy has named, so let's hope we can improve from the summer and qualify for the World Cup. I looked around both those tables we had in there tonight [at the awards ceremony] and that makes me confident we can go there [to Montenegro] and get a win. Nothing will be acceptable beyond winning this group. Gerrard's mature leadership has become a major asset for Hodgson. "It's always nice to get personal accolades but all those lads will agree the most important thing is to get to that World Cup," the captain said. It's going to be the last one for me, Frank and Ash. It's a very difficult level to play at this level in your thirties but let's hope we can finish off in a good successful tournament. That's why we're sticking about. We've all had good careers with our clubs but we're all desperate to achieve something with England. The country would go wild. Gerrard also picked out his favourite Cole performance: "I think the one where he marked Ronaldo [at Euro 2004] and Ronaldo was on the back of a fantastic year. He had Ronaldo in his pocket and you can't say many defenders have done that.