Sat 14 June 2014, 10:10
Tottenham HotspurKyle Walker has underlined the importance of England's opener in the World Cup.
Roy Hodgson’s men take on Italy in Manaus, kicking off at 11pm UK time. Uruguay and Costa Rica are also in Group D and meet in Fortaleza (8pm).
Capped 10 times by England and a regular member of the squad throughout qualifying, Kyle was unfortunately ruled out of the tournament through injury.
He said: “Every match is vital in the World Cup and you need to get points from every game, so that will be a key fixture.
“Italy are good team, great technical players with tournament know-how, and they’ve been around a long time.
“We’ll have to be on our game but we have some fantastic players, match-winners in the squad and I’m sure the lads will be confident."
Kyle was naturally frustrated to miss another major tournament through injury having been sidelined since March with a pelvic problem.
“It’s difficult, I’ve been here five years now and not really been injured,” he added.
“I missed the Euros in 2012 with a broken toe, that was at the end of the season. It’s a learning curve, I have to deal with it and hopefully I’ll come back stronger and fitter.”
