Temperatures are expected to be around 32 degrees Celsius, humidity is expected to hover around 80 percent but the elements will be nothing compared to the intensity on the pitch when England take on Italy in the Amazonian jungle city of Manaus. The European heavyweights are aware that whoever wins this match will have an easier time qualifying for the next round than the rest of their Group C counterparts. As crucial as it is to get all three points, avoiding defeat will be just as important for both teams.
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Roy Hodgson’s team come into the World Cup on the back of a modest win and two draws in their warm-up matches and the lack of expectation back home might be just the right catalyst to propel a notoriously underachieving England side to great performances. There are quite a few fresh faces in the squad, with the likes of Luke Shaw (18), Ross Barkley (20), Raheem Sterling (19) and Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana (26) who will be hoping to carry their club form into their first major tournament. Members of the old guard including Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney will also feel this is their last chance to write their name in gold.
Italy is not as formidable as they were when they knocked England out of Euro 2012 and will be hoping to do much better than they did at the last World Cup in which they couldn’t manage a single win. The Azzuri performed badly in their pre-World Cup friendlies, drawing against Republic of Ireland and Luxembourg before beating Fluminense 5-3 in their final warm up game.
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POSSIBLE LINE UPS
England (4-2-3-1): Hart; Johnson, Cahill, Jagielka, Baines; Gerrard, Henderson; Welbeck, Lallana, Rooney; Sturridge
Italy (4-3-2-1): Buffon; Abate, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Pirlo, Marchisio, De Rossi; Verratti, Cassano, Balotelli
KEY BATTLE
Good wine gets better with age and Andrea Pirlo is like good wine. The Juventus midfielder is now 35 but shows no signs of slowing down. In the Euro 2012 match against England, Pirlo made more passes than the entire England midfield and Roy Hodgson could do a lot worse than stationing a man on Pirlo. If he is allowed space on the ball, the deep-lying will hurt you with his spectacular range of passing.
ONE TO WATCH
24-year old Ciro Immobile ended last season as Serie A top scorer, plundering 22 goals in 33 appearances with modest Torino. The 6 ft 1 striker who is co-owned by Torino and Juventus has already agreed a deal with Borussia Dortmund and will officially join the club on 1 July 2014. Immobile will probably be used as an impact sub by Italy manager Cesare Prandelli and can score from anywhere in and around the penalty box.
PREDICTION
Given what is at stake here, one would expect both teams to play it safe, until someone scores, then the excitement will begin. England will play a high tempo game and will look to break at speed but this could well be their undoing as the sweltering conditions of Manaus will eventually tell. Italy, on the other hand are in a bad vein of form so I expect the two to cancel each other out.
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