England planning for Uruguay strike force, says Hart

Monday 16 Jun 2014
Joe Hart says England are focused on beating Uruguay

Joe Hart says he is preparing for the threat of Uruguay's front-line as England build-up for their second Group D game on Thursday.

The Three Lions meet the South Americans in Sao Paulo and expect to face two of Europe's most highly-rated forwards - Liverpool's Luis Suarez and Paris Saint-Germain's Edinson Cavani.

And as Roy Hodgson's men returned to training in Urca on Monday following defeat to Italy in their World Cup opener, Hart and fellow keepers Ben Foster and Fraser Forster were being put through their paces with the sharp-shooting duo in mind.

Joe Hart

Joe Hart is focused on three points against Uruguay

"Dave [Watson, goalkeeping coach] studies the tapes of Uruguay and we are well aware of their strikers and their pattern of finishing," Hart told TheFA.com as he took an ice-bath after the session. 

"We cover things in general, but we specify short, sharp shots as they have got a lot of boys who get it out of their feet and bang it. 

"We obviously have fundamentals we like to cover. A lot of basics, a lot of handling and feet movement which you need in any kind of game. 

"But when we built up for this tournament knowing these three teams for as long as we have, we’ve got various exercises we can do based around what they do." 

The Manchester City stopper, who won his 42nd England against Italy, was disappointed as a header from his former Etihad team-mate Mario Balotelli consigned them to defeat in their first game in Brazil.

Hart believes England performed well in Manaus and was buoyed by the display, but says they must now go to Sao Paulo and get all three points in a game that would see the losers eliminated from the World Cup.  

Joe Hart, Ben Foster and Fraser Forster

Hart, Foster and Forster have been preparing for Uruguay's threat

He continued: "We did play well and there was a lot of positives, but the outcome was not want we wanted and it’s not what we’ve come here for. 

"We’ve put ourselves in a do or die situation, which we are prepared for. We’ve got to take the good stuff and make it better. 

"That’s what we’ve come here for, we need to win," added Hart.

"[Defeat] was never what we wanted, we didn’t go into the Italian game with any intention of losing - it’s done now, we’ve moved on. 

"We now go into Uruguay and we’ve got to win in Sao Paulo."

Watch our exclusive video with Joe Hart in the player at the top of the page

By Jamie Bradbury FA Editor in Rio de Janeiro