Gerrard urges England to respect foes
Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has warned his England team-mates not to underestimate upcoming international opponents San Marino and Montenegro.
By FOX SPORTS staff
Sitting 204 places below England in the FIFA rankings, San Marino are not expected to provide Roy Hodgson's side much of a challenge when the Three Lions come to play their 2014 World Cup qualifier on Friday night.
Three points from that game and a slip up from Montenegro would see England top Group H before they travel to play Branko Brnovic's team next week.
However, Gerrard was wary of underestimating both of their lower-ranked foes.
"We have to get the balance right between being confident about going there and getting the result we want and being in any way over-confident, It would be a schoolboy error for any of us to go into the game against Montenegro thinking it will be a stroll in the park," he told Liverpoolfc.com
"It is a responsibility of mine to make sure that none of the players are underestimating this because this will be a tough game in a hostile atmosphere. The result could go either way depending on how we approach it. Can you win the game? Yeah. Could we lose it? Yeah."
Hodgson's team saw off the challenge presented by Brazil during the previous international break, defeating a team boasting the likes of Ronaldinho, Neymar and Oscar by a score-line of 2-1.
Whilst the Three Lions captain was proud of the result, he reminded the players and fans that there was still plenty for England to do before they could a secure a place at the upcoming World Cup.
"The danger with England is that after a result like the one against Brazil, everyone gets carried away. Everyone starts assuming we've already qualified for 2014 and before you know it, people will be talking about us as one of the favourites. That type of thinking is dangerous. It wasn't so long ago we had a lot of criticism for not keeping the ball well enough against Italy in Kiev," Gerrard pointed out.
"Things are moving forward. Things are progressing well. The manager's doing the right things and creating the right atmosphere. But at this level it can change in an instant - one bad result, one bad team performance and the nation can lose a lot of confidence in the team. The next two games are about trying to ensure that doesn't happen."