Roy Hodgson: 'Experienced players must step up'

England manager Roy Hodgson has admitted that the burden for England's important World Cup Group D clash against Uruguay on Thursday night will fall on the shoulders of the players with the highest number of caps.

Hodgson said that the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney are the players that he is looking for a performance from in a game that England probably need to win in order to reach the second round.

"I'm more than satisfied with Rooney's performance against Italy," The Mirror quotes Hodgson as saying. "It's interesting to see he ran more than any other England player, more sprints than any other England player.

"But Wayne, like Gerrard, and Lampard who hasn't featured yet... they are the players with 100 caps, or 90-odd caps, with World Cups and European experience, so the focus is on them.

"You can't expect the younger players to shoulder that heavy part of the burden. Wayne is more than happy to do that. If he plays tomorrow night, you'll see that in his performance."

Hodgson has also said that he expects Rooney to come good in this World Cup.