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England national football team
World Cup | Group Stage
Jun 14, 2014 at 11pm UK
 
Italy national football team

1-2

Sturridge (37')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Marchisio (35'), Balotelli (50')

Roy Hodgson: 'England not just focusing on Andrea Pirlo'

Roy Hodgson claims that England will not just be focusing on stopping Andrea Pirlo when they face Italy in their World Cup opener this weekend.

England manager Roy Hodgson has claimed that his team will not just be focusing on Andrea Pirlo when they face Italy in their World Cup opener on Saturday.

It has been suggested that the Three Lions will need to thwart the playmaker if they want to get a positive result against the Azzurri in Manaus.

However, Hodgson has insisted that the Italians have players in their ranks who are just as good as the 35-year-old.

"It is quite normal people focus on Andrea Pirlo for them, but there are a lot of other quality players also worthy of attention," he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

"We are not hung up on one player because his team does not depend totally on one player."

Pirlo was part of the Italy squad that won the World Cup in Germany eight years ago.

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Roy Hodgson addresses the England squad during a training session in Rio de Janeiro on June 9, 2014
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Friday, July 5
 
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Spain
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Portugal
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Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


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