World Cup

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Attendance: 39,800

World Cup | Group Stage

Jun 14, 2014 at 11pm UK

England
1-2
Italy

Sturridge (37')

FT(HT: 1-1)

Marchisio (35'), Balotelli (50')

Glen Johnson: "We are ready now"

By Simon Sinclair, Reporter | 09 June 2014

England defender Glen Johnson believes that Roy Hodgson's side are ready for the World Cup following their battling encounter against Honduras on Saturday.

England defender Glen Johnson has expressed his belief that the Three Lions are ready for the World Cup following their encounter with Honduras.

Roy Hodgson's side were frustrated by their opponents' tactics in the friendly clash at Sun Life Stadium, with captain Steven Gerrard especially annoyed with their physicality.

Johnson feels that those incidents will benefit England ahead of the tournament to help them sharpen up.

He told reporters: "That [kind of tackling] and the [weather] conditions – we're going to get that in Brazil so that was a useful practice. We are used to getting kicked anyway.

"We are ready now. I think we proved that they weren't going to wind anyone up. There was a point when [Emilio] Izaguirre kicked the ball at [Daniel] Sturridge when he was lying on the floor five seconds after the whistle.

"That is when you can react, but he didn't. We kept our composure and showed we weren't going to react to things."

England begin their campaign against Italy on Saturday.