Sterling seizes the moment (ESPN article)

by Dave Usher for ESPN

Fitness permitting, Luis Suarez will come up against five of his club mates when Uruguay take on England on Thursday in Sao Paolo. The most intriguing aspect of this Group D fixture is the potential shootout between the Premier League's two leading goal scorers: Suarez and his Liverpool teammate, Daniel Sturridge.

The pair have gone into battle side by side many times for Liverpool, but on this occasion "the SAS" will be going head to head against each other in what looks like a "lose and go home" clash after both nations were defeated in their opening games.

Both carry the goal-scoring burden of a nation on their shoulders, but before his recent injury scare Suarez would have been the one expected to make the biggest impact in Brazil. The landscape has changed somewhat since Suarez was forced to undergo pre-tournament knee surgery, and it's the other half of Anfield's dynamic duo who may now be set to take centre stage.

Sturridge hasn't exactly played second fiddle to the Uruguayan, but he is generally regarded as the junior partner to the reigning FWA and PFA Player of the Year. There's no shame in that -- only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo would be able to claim seniority over the Uruguayan at this moment -- but this tournament represents a chance for Sturridge to be the main man in his own right and enhance his own standing in the game.

He got off to the best possible start against Italy when he converted a Wayne Rooney cross to cancel out Claudio Marchisio's opener minutes earlier. England lost the game, but on a personal note, it was a successful evening for Sturridge, and he will be flying going into the Uruguay game.

In contrast, Suarez was forced to watch in frustration from the substitutes bench as his beloved Uruguay were taken to the cleaners by Costa Rica in a shock upset. The reigning Copa America champions were dreadful, and even a fully fit Suarez may not be enough to transform their fortunes based on that performance. Then again, he just might. He is a world-class footballer at the peak of his powers, after all. Much will depend on how well that knee has recovered, but for Uruguay to stand any chance, Suarez will surely have to start and he'll certainly have to play well.

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