England's Roy Hodgson: Manaus "not an ideal place" to play

England coach Roy Hodgson has admitted that playing in Manaus is not ideal for his side.

The Three Lions will take on Italy in their opening Group D game at the World Cup in the Amazonian city on June 14.

"From the coaches I spoke to, we all agree that Manaus is not an ideal place to play football," he told BBC Sport. "It's in the middle of the Amazonian jungle and the temperatures and humidity are much, much greater than any other place in the country.

"I'm not even certain that Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia would have been jumping for joy if they were drawn there as it's a difficult place to play. I've never known Brazil, for example, to play any of their home matches in Manaus."

Uruguay and Costa Rica are the other two teams in Group D.