England boss Roy Hodgson knows that they will have a tough time dealing with Andrea Pirlo in their World Cup 2014 opener against Italy on Saturday, but the Three Lions coach is unfazed.

Pirlo dominated England during their Euro 2012 showdown wherein Italy ran away with a win on penalties, but Hodgson insisted that his squad will be ready for everything the Juventus star will thrown into them on Saturday.

"You don't scare us," Hodgson said when asked to give a message to Pirlo, the Daily Star reported.

Hodgson said that it will not just be about stopping Pirlo in his tracks because they are preparing hard to make life difficult for the entire Italian squad by showing strong determination in their Brazil tournament debut.

"How are we going to stop Pirlo? What we're going to do first of all is we're going to play better against Italy this time than we did then," Hodgson said, referring to their Euro 2012 match. "All the players would agree with me. We didn't think we'd played anywhere near as well as we could play."

The 66-year-old manager said that the Three Lions will be more aggressive on Saturday and will continue to put the pressure on the Italians by keeping them guessing throughout the entire match.

"One of our plans this time is to make certain we do a lot more attacking and that Italy find themselves wondering what they're going to do about people like Steven Gerrard or Wayne Rooney," Hodgson said.

Recent reports indicated that Gerrard, England's team captain, might miss the team's opener in Manaus on Saturday, but Hodgson played down speculations about the 34-year-old midfielder.

Hodgson, who was appointed as Three Lions' manager in 2012, insisted that the Gerrard is not bothered by a groin injury and will be ready to go against Italy.

"My understanding is the other group did some extra work at the end of the session. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with Steven, so I didn't really understand that story at all," Hodgson said via ESPN UK.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is recovering from a knee injury, will not play against Italy but is expected to see action against Uruguay in the second match of their World Cup Group D campaign on June 19.

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