The Liverpool skipper needs only eight more caps to complete 100 games for England, and in a long England career has worn the skipper's armband with pride and scored some memorable goals.
But as his 32nd birthday approaches, and another tournament looms, the one-club man knows last-chance saloon is approaching if he is to leave a lasting legacy for his country.
It will also be fascinating to see how he is used by new England manager Roy Hodgson after Hodgson endured an unhappy time as Liverpool's manager during the first half of the 2010/11 season.
His buccaneering, box-to-box style has been rewarded with a cabinet load of silverware for Liverpool, including a prized Champions League winners' medal and, while he has never won the English title, helping England lift the Henri Delauney trophy, as unlikely as that seems, might provide some compensation.
Gerrard is far from alone among England's senior core in suffering international disappointment.
The so-called "Golden Generation" which included the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Frank Lampard have flopped at tournaments as instinctive club form is replaced by cumbersome straight-jacketed displays.
Sometimes used as an attacking midfielder, occasionally a second striker and often out on the flanks, he has been the highest profile victim of various managers' attempts to fit square pegs into round holes in an attempt to accommodate the so-called best players.
He was England's top scorer at the 2006 World Cup before his missed spot-kick against Portugal contributed to yet another quarter-final exit on penalties.
