Ray Parlour: 'Steven Gerrard as good as Andrea Pirlo'

Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour has claimed that England do not need to worry about Andrea Pirlo on Saturday night, as Steven Gerrard is at least as good as the Italian.

Parlour said that it would not be worth it for England to attempt to man-mark Pirlo out of the game, as this would only hamper their own attacking intent.

"We should not be man-marking Pirlo. Pirlo has been a fantastic player for Italy but he's getting on a bit now," Here Is The City quotes him as saying.

"He's still got that passing ability and he will try and control games. Steven Gerrard is just as good, though, if not better than Pirlo. I don't think England should be worried about players like that."

England and Italy will also play Uruguay and Costa Rica in their group.