Steven Gerrard believes Darren Bent’s absence from England’s 2010 World Cup squad had a big impact on their embarrassment.The Three Lions were humiliated in the round of 16 that year as they were thrashed 4-1 by Germany in controversial fashion.Gerrard and England went on to suffer a heavy defeat without Bent in the squadGettyIt was the infamous game that saw iconic Frank Lampard‘s ‘ghost goal’ disallowed despite the ball clearly crossing the line.That World Cup campaign ended in major disappointment, but the entire tournament had fallen flat for England from the off.A 1-1 draw with the USA was followed by a goalless stalemate against Algeria and a 1-0 victory over Slovenia in the group stage.Fabio Capello’s men were then eliminated by Germany, having only scored three goals in their entire stint in South Africa.And it was in front of goal where Gerrard thinks England had the option to improve, but Capello’s selection let him down.Speaking to Teddy Sheringham and Emile Heskey on talkSPORT and Burger King’s Squad Table, the former players were asked which star’s absence impacted England in previous tournaments and Gerrard was quick with his answer.The Liverpool legend said: “Darren Bent. The squad was picked and he wasn’t involved despite scoring 25 goals for Sunderland.“That was before, so he missed out…”talkSPORT host Bent couldn’t hide his feelings at the time, admitting he thought his form should have secured him a spot in the squad.Instead though, it was Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and Heskey taken by Capello as striker options.Bent was in incredible form in 2010, but he was snubbed by CapelloGetty‘A massive loss’ Gerrard also mentioned a second star he wished was in the squad who could have helped avoid the loss at the 2010 World Cup.He said: “Another example would be when the squad was named in South Africa and Rio Ferdinand did his knee in training.“To lose Rio, it was huge…his relationship with John Terry on the pitch, I played in front of them and it was a massive loss for us.“His character around the dressing room and leadership. In terms of the loss and impact he could have had was huge.” Ferdinand’s injury ruled him out and Michael Dawson was called up in his place to cover at centre-back at the tournament.The legendary defender was going to captain England, but his absence then led to Gerrard getting the armband.Ferdinand is another player Gerrard thinks England needed in South AfricaGettyMore absent England starsSheringham and Heskey made their selections, too.Sheringham remembered going to the 1998 World Cup without Paul Gascoigne when manager Glenn Hoddle left him out.“We all went out to play golf and we all had allocated times to go and see the manager,” he explained.“And there was word around that Gazza’s not in the squad. A few of us had been in and been told we were in, but we hadn’t seen where Gazza was with all the speculation.“All of a sudden he’d got wind of it that he wasn’t going, so when he went in to Glenn Hoddle, there was a big commotion.”He added: “I think he was one we sorely missed. He could come up with something special at times, without a doubt a top player.“Perhaps not at his best by ’98, but still well capable of doing something in little spells that you just go: ‘Ohhh, Gazza’.”Heskey then picked Gerrard as the man he wished was with the England squad in 2002, after injury ruled him out.“I always say he’s the best player I’ve played with, so not having him and realising that [impact],” he admitted.“He could get around the pitch, he was just phenomenal and we were missing out with him there. “Frank Lampard as well, not getting picked.”Neither Lampard nor Gerrard were in the squad 24 years ago, when England painfully lost 2-1 to Brazil in the quarter-finals.Alexander-Arnold’s name may come up in a similar conversation in the future after he was left out by TuchelGettyTuchel’s potential mistakesGerrard, Sheringham and Heskey were all able to pick out players they wished were part of their World Cup squads in the past. And some of the current stars in 2026 may have some stories to tell if England end up feeling the absence of those left at home. In fact, the Three Lions are already feeling some impact, with Thomas Tuchel suffering a crisis at right-back due to injuries.Reece James and Jarrell Quansah have picked up injuries, while Tino Livramento had to pull out pre-tournament too. It has left England with very limited options at right-back, raising concerns that it was a mistake not to pick Trent Alexander-Arnold.On top of that, Cole Palmer was another star left out by Tuchel this summer and his quality has already been missed in North America, according to former Premier League manager Alan Pardew.Try the new Burger King Burger Buddies Box. An unbeatable line-up of three or nine iconic snackable burgers. Perfect for any watch along, order now on the BK app