Marchisio braced for England test

Italy midfielder Claudio Marchisio said he is expecting a tough match against England when the two teams meet in their FIFA World Cup opener.

Cesare Prandelli’s Italy will go head-to-head with England in their Group D opener in Manaus on Saturday – a repeat of their Euro 2012 quarter-final tie.

Italy prevailed on that occasion, winning 4-2 on penalties en route to the final.

The four-time World Cup winners will be up against a completely different England side to that which took to the field in Kiev two years ago, with Ashley Cole, John Terry, Ashley Young, Scott Parker, Andy Carroll and Theo Walcott amongst the absentees from their squad in Brazil.

“It will be a very difficult match, but just as they have changed since the Euros, so have we,” Marchisio told reporters.

“For many of us it was our first major tournament, so we now have more experience and have done important things over the last two years.

“We already saw against Fluminense what this humidity means, so the fact we worked so well over the last month has prepared us for the conditions in Manaus.

“The meetings with England are always great clashes, so we’ll let the pitch do the talking.”

Italy will head into the match on the back of a 5-3 win over Brazil Serie A side Fluminense, which featured a second-string team and a change of formation.

Ciro Immobile netted a hat-trick and Lorenzo Insigne scored twice as Prandelli tested a 4-3-2-1 system, having adopted a 4-5-1 line-up led by Mario Balotelli in their 1-1 draw against Luxembourg last Wednesday.

And the Juventus midfielder admitted he is unsure who will start against Roy Hodgson’s men at the Arena Amazonia.

“We don’t know who will play against England,” he said.

“We tested two different systems in the last two friendlies and have many players who allow us to be versatile.

“We’ll see what the coach chooses, but the important thing is that everyone feels they are a part of this project.”

Uruguay and Costa Rica are Italy’s other two Group D opponents.