PARIS - England captain Steven Gerrard said that preparations for the World Cup were entering the decisive stage this week as a raft of international friendlies signals the final phase of fine-tuning for nations heading to Brazil. 1966 champions England, who head to Brazil with all-time low expectations, play the first of three pre-tournament friendlies against Peru on Friday at Wembley before heading to Miami for subsequent warm-up matches against Ecuador and Honduras.
Gerrard acknowledged these final few weeks leading up to the tournament would be crucial ahead of their June 14 opener against Group D rivals Italy. “This is the important part, the preparation making sure you get into peak condition and try to find your form ready for that very important game against Italy. What’s important is we try to put on a good show in the three friendly matches and try to gain some early belief and confidence. Hopefully that has a snowball effect going into the tournament,” said the Liverpool midfielder.
Meanwhile, 1998 world champions France will emerge from their secluded Clairefontaine training camp to face Norway in Paris on Tuesday. Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane won’t join the team until Wednesday after helping Real Madrid win the Champions League last weekend, while goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and Franck Ribery will be rested against the Norwegians. Mamadou Sakho, whose brace in a 3-0 victory over Ukraine at the Stade de France in November’s World Cup play-offs helped Les Bleus reach the finals, will serve as captain in Lloris’ absence.
“It’s important to prepare well for this match for our confidence and so we can impose our style of play as well as obviously winning,” said Sakho. “The game is part of our tournament preparation but you can’t forget that we’re all competitors and we want to start things off well with a good performance. As far as injuries go, as a player there’s always the risk of getting hurt each day, even at training. You can’t think about it, you just have to remained focussed on the match from start to finish,” added the Liverpool defender.
Title-holders Spain host Bolivia on Friday, a final chance for fringe players to impress with coach Vicente del Bosque expected to finalise his 23-man squad the following day. Del Bosque on Sunday unveiled a list of 19 players for the friendly, leaving out players from both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid for the time being to monitor their fitness. Germany, losing semi-finalists in the last two World Cups, play African hopefuls Cameroon in Moenchengladbach on Sunday.
The Germans have been in Italy for a 10-day training camp with notable first-team regulars Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger still nursing their way back to fitness.  “The players are working very well and as it stands now I am very satisfied. Some are still injured and cannot fully train with the team but they are all training individually and I am very confident that it will work out,” Germany boss Joachim Loew told reporters in the Italian Alps.
The Netherlands, 2010 runners-up, host another Brazil-bound side Ghana on Saturday in Rotterdam as Dutch coach Louis van Gaal prepares for one last hurrah before departing to take over the reins at Manchester United after the World Cup.
Four-time winners Italy, whose coach Cesare Prandelli still has his final cuts to make from a provisional 30-man squad, have an exhibition match lined up against the Republic of Ireland in London on Friday. Dark horses Belgium, a country brimming with youthful talent but making its first appearance at the global showcase in 12 years, face neighbours Luxembourg on Monday before travelling to Sweden for a sterner test of their credentials on Sunday. As for Brazil, the hosts will play two friendlies next week against Panama and Serbia prior to opening the World Cup against Croatia on June 12 in Sao Paulo.
Argentina’s players convened for a training camp just outside Buenos Aires on Monday. Lionel Messi and his teammates have friendlies scheduled against Trinidad and Tobago (June 5) and Honduras (June 7). Uruguay, who are sweating over the fitness of Luis Suarez after the striker underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last week, play Northern Ireland in Montevideo on Saturday.