With England’s massive World Cup opener against Italy looming large less than 24-hours away, captain Steven Gerrard has moved quickly to do away with any excuses that may be trotted out should the Three Lion’s fail to impress in Brazil.
Although Roy Hodgson’s side go into this summers show-piece event with lower than normal expectations, the Liverpool man just isn’t having it and insists that they’ve covered every possible angle in the build-up to their opener. “It is here now. All the distances and the miles we have covered, the heat preparation – we have done all that” he explained with an eerie sense of calmness. “There are no excuses now.”
After bowing out timidly in both World Cup 2006 in Germany and World Cup 2010 in South Africa, Gerrard is looking to leave a lasting impression in Brazil in what’s sure to be his last hurrah on the world’s biggest stage. With the pitch in shambles and temperatures sure to soar, it’s be easy to pass the buck, but the skipper won’t hear anything of it. “The FA leave the players with no excuses. They try their best and it is 99.9% right. This time they have put everything in place, they have done everything they possibly can for the players to perform” he continued. “When the whistle goes against Italy you are on your own. You are with your team and you have to have belief in what we are going into the tournament with.”
That belief, of course, remains a question in itself as the Three Lion’s sputtered to a win and two draws in their warm-up matches en-route to arriving in Brazil. Still, Gerrard has retained his belief that this squad will be able to push the limits of what’s expected of them. “The talent is there, the ability is there but this is the most difficult and the most pressurised stage to deliver on, both personally and as a group” explained the seasoned veteran. “It is all right having the talent but it is also being cute, clever and having that knowledge of how to beat these sides because everyone has got what we have got.”
