Rio Ferdinand insists England have much more hard work ahead of them before the World Cup gets underway.
Plenty of hard graft ahead, says Three Lions skipper
England captain Rio Ferdinand insists his side have much more hard work ahead of them before the World Cup gets underway.
Fabio Capello's men will take on Japan in Graz on Sunday following 12 days training at high altitude at their Austrian training base.
They will then be given a couple of days' break with their families, during which time Italian boss Capello will reveal the final 23-man party to fly out to Johannesburg for the tournament.
And Manchester United defender Ferdinand is adamant the squad for South Africa have plenty more graft ahead of them before their opening game against USA on 12th June.
Preparation
"There is still a lot of hard work and preparation to do," said Ferdinand. "We still need to get the manager's ideas out on to the pitch when we are playing.
"We must continue to work hard and maintain our focus and hopefully when the matches start, we are in the right shape to get out there and do the job."
England secured a 3-1 win over Mexico in Monday's friendly at Wembley, despite their patchy first-half display, and 31-year-old Ferdinand believes the match will have given Italian boss Capello a lot to think about in terms of his final line-up.
"You learn things with every game and I'm sure the manager learned a lot of good things on Monday," he said.
"There were also some negative things which will be talked about as well."
Ferdinand believes the remarkable goal delivered by Liverpool right-back Glen Johnson on Monday night was an uplifting sign ahead of South Africa.
"Glen is a talented player," added Ferdinand. "It was good to see the goals shared around. Hopefully that will bode well for the tournament."
