Glen Johnson has said that England teammate Raheem Sterling has impressed the squad during training ahead of the World Cup in Brazil.

The Liverpool winger has been tipped to start for the Three Lions in their opening match of the tournament against Italy on Saturday.

Sterling missed England's final warm-up friendly against Honduras after receiving a red card against Ecuador, but Johnson believes that it could work to his advantage when the competition gets underway.

"It would be ideal if people don't really know what Raheem is capable of and underestimate him," Johnson told Sky Sports News. "That would definitely work in our favour. Hopefully people will underestimate him and then he can prove them wrong.

"He was on fire in training on Friday and he looks like he has been around the squad for years. When he gets on the ball you can see he has learnt the game quickly and he can hurt teams. He's probably the quickest in the squad over 10 yards.

"He has looked good all year. He's a young kid who is willing to learn about the game and he should just get better."

Sterling has won four caps for England.