England manager Roy Hodgson has claimed that his team will not just be focusing on Andrea Pirlo when they face Italy in their World Cup opener on Saturday.

It has been suggested that the Three Lions will need to thwart the playmaker if they want to get a positive result against the Azzurri in Manaus.

However, Hodgson has insisted that the Italians have players in their ranks who are just as good as the 35-year-old.

"It is quite normal people focus on Andrea Pirlo for them, but there are a lot of other quality players also worthy of attention," he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

"We are not hung up on one player because his team does not depend totally on one player."

Pirlo was part of the Italy squad that won the World Cup in Germany eight years ago.