Noel Gallagher may be a passionate Manchester City fan but he admits he has been captivated by Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard's performances at Euro 2012.

The singer has joined countless others in expressing his belief that the Huyton-born midfielder has been England's stand-out performer at the tournament so far.

Captain Gerrard will lead the Three Lions out in Kiev tonight, where Cesare Prandelli's Italy will be waiting, hoping to beat them to a semi-final showdown against Germany.

And Gallagher was full of praise for the way Gerrard has imposed himself on games in the tournament's group stage and the quality with which Liverpool's No.8 has created goalscoring opportunities for his teammates.

"[The match against Ukraine] was the best I have ever seen him play for England," said Noel. "It just goes to show when he is the main man, he plays like the main man.

"He has had a hand in all of England's goals so far. He has been brilliant, dictating play, taking free-kicks, running the show."

The former Oasis frontman also called upon England manager Roy Hodgson to give Andy Carroll a starting berth for the clash against the Azzurri in Ukraine this evening.

"For as long as I can remember [England] has never had such luck," said Noel. "Now we seem to be getting it for once. I can see our game against Italy being goalless, a grind and us winning on penalties.

"I don't think England can improve, they can only change the system and play Andy Carroll up front.

"The quality is going to step up tenfold now we are playing Italy and, in Pirlo, they have arguably the best midfield player of the tournament."