International Friendly Preview: England v Peru

England will hope for a good send-off when they host Peru in their final Wembley game before the FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil.

Roy Hodgson’s side step up their preparations with a friendly that they will be expected to win two weeks before facing Italy in their Group D opener at Arena Amazonia in Manaus.

England laboured to a 1-0 win over Denmark in their last friendly back in March, so Hodgson will be expecting a more convincing performance on Friday before they jet off to a training camp in Florida.

Prior to their victory over the Danes, England had suffered home defeats against Chile and Germany, but it would be a major surprise if they are unable to see off Peru.

Hodgson named a youthful 23-man squad for the showpiece in Brazil and the clash with Peru will be their first since Ashley Cole’s international career came to an end.

The left-back has been a mainstay in the squad since making his debut back in 2001, winning 107 caps for his country.

Hodgson decided to overlook the former Arsenal man for the tournament in Brazil, though, and he opted to call time on his England career with Leighton Baines and Luke Shaw rewarded for the strides they have made with Everton and Southampton respectively.

Wayne Rooney has been criticised for his inability to make an impact at major tournaments, so the Manchester United man will be eager to hit form by finding the back of the net.

Jordan Henderson forced his way into Hodgson’s squad and the Liverpool midfielder is raring to go ahead of his first World Cup finals.

He told the Football Association’s official website: “I was delighted, over the moon to be going to the World Cup. The main thing is I was in the squad. Going to the World Cup, it doesn’t really get much better than that.

“When you come away with England they are all good players so they’ll have a lot of confidence and a lot of belief, whoever plays.

“Confidence is a big part of football. Going into games and into tournaments you’ve got to be confident, especially when you are playing in big games.”

England face Ecuador and Honduras in Florida next week before taking on Cesare Prandelli’s Italy side.

Peru have not secured a victory since beating Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier a year ago, so they travel to Wembley under pressure in Pablo Bengoechea’s first game in charge.

Bengoechea took over as coach in March on a contract until December, so he will be eager to stake his claim for a longer-term deal.

Experienced attacking pair Claudio Pizarro and Jose Paolo Guerrero have not been selected, with a young set of strikers including potential debutants Jean Deza and Miguel Trauco hoping to shine.