World Cup 2014: Frank Lampard says he is focused on England
By Mike Dyce
Teams are preparing for the 2014 World Cup and trying to block out the distractions before the biggest international tournament. For some it is players being injured before the start of the tournament, and for others it is news revolving their situation with their club teams.
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Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard falls into the second half of that category, after confirming his exit from the club. He has been linked to a move to the New York City FC expansion team in Major League soccer. They won’t start play until March of 2015 so there is a chance he is loaned back to Chelsea for the majority of the 2014/15 season.
While reporters ask about Lampard’s future, he has tried to redirect focus back onto the national team and their goals.
“I’m proud to be captain tomorrow and looking forward to the game,” said Lampard, via Sky Sports. “I’m here now to concentrate on being with England. It was a relief to say it last night and now I personally, and the team, can focus on the game.
“I think you do have to play a different game in these sort of humid conditions.
“I’m really impressed with what Roy and his staff have done – they’ve tried to cover every base, which gives us no excuses! We all have to adapt but I do feel the acclimatisation helps. Italy have to get used to the conditions too.
“We know about individuals like (Antonio) Valencia but for us it’s more about getting used to the different styles of football we’ll face at the World Cup.
“Ecuador’s strength is in their wingers but we’re concentrating more on ourselves – the positives we can take, the improvements we can make.
“We’re all aware of the injury issue but as players, do you try to stay away from being injured – and maybe get injured in the process – or do you play positively as you normally do?
“We’re careful in training, even though we train very hard, but come the matches, we’ll just try and play well individually and as a team and fingers crossed we’re all fit and on the plane.”