Irons icon Paolo Di Canio believes Italy will have it over England next week because Roy Hodgson’s Premier League stars “cooked”.
Paolo believes the English season’s punishing schedule will ensure England fail in Brazil.
And he has predicted Wayne Rooney’s all-action style will see him flop in the tournament.
He told Gazzetta dello Sport: “England are missing parts, the reserves are not up to par. And the players are tired.
“I really like Rooney but he arrives in these competitions cooked, because he plays a lot of games in the season.
“He gives all of himself, in every game, but the temperatures in Brazil will be very hard for him.
“They do not have a winter break. It’s nice to play at Christmas, but they pay the price for this in June when the fatigue can be devastating.”
However, Di Canio says that Ross Barkley, Raheem Sterling and Luke Shaw are interesting.
He added: I like Shaw, who for me is one of the strongest full-backs in Europe – incredible strength, he is never tired.
“But the English do have a problem – they do not play much together, but they must improve their understanding and they do not attack the space well.”
Of Italy he said: “Lately I’ve noticed some difficulties, but the Italian players have the value of flexibility, they can change position.
“They may lack a true identity, but the physical work done in the last two weeks will put them in a good position compared to the English, who are exhausted.”
