No ball worries for Hodgson

25 February 2014 14:01

Roy Hodgson is sure England will be fully accustomed to the lightweight Brazuca ball by the time they arrive at the World Cup.

FIFA and manufacturer adidas unveiled the 437-gram Brazuca to great fanfare just before the World Cup draw took place last December.

But, under the terms of the Football Association's agreement with Nike, only balls manufactured by the American sports giant can be used in games at Wembley.

Under current plans the first time England can play a match with the Brazuca therefore will be in Miami against Honduras on June 4 - just 10 days before their Group D opener against Italy.

However, England have the opportunity to train with the ball next week in the build-up to their friendly against Denmark and during their pre-World Cup training camps in Portugal and Miami, so Hodgson is not concerned his players will be under-prepared by the time the tournament kicks off.

"If you have got two or three weeks playing with the same ball every day, by the time match day comes around you should be quite comfortable with it," the England manager told Sky Sports.

"I have far more important things to think about other than shall we use a Nike ball or an adidas ball when we train next week."

Players and coaches, including Hodgson's predecessor Fabio Capello, criticised the Brazuca's predecessor, the Jabulani, during the last World Cup in South Africa.

There were several complaints that the Jabulani swerved too easily, but adidas insist the Brazuca is more stable.

Source: PA