Listen up: Mario Balotelli could hold the key for Italy against England if he is chosen to start

‘I’m very flattered and humbled to receive compliments from those players. The feeling from me is mutual respect for those players as well. De Rossi is a fantastic midfielder who can see a long pass, create goals, score goals. (Claudio) Marchisio is more forward-thinking, making runs into the box, but both are threats. Myself and Scott Parker have to control the midfield area because Italy have got three superb players in the middle and if they have control of the game, we’re going to be in trouble.

‘But we’ve got a lot of leaders around the set-up, and that’s the reason we’re doing so well. John Terry has been a big part of that. His performances have been superb and we’ll need another against Italy.’

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