Former Middlesbrough boss and England defender Gareth Southgate believes Rio Ferdinand and John Terry will be okay for the World Cup.

There are concerns over the form of both Manchester United defender Ferdinand and Chelsea's Terry.

But Southgate told the Daily Star: "I'm sure the preparation for both of them hasn't been ideal but they are the first choice pair. They seem to be pretty confident with Rio's fitness. But if it is his back, the one danger is they don't know when that might flare up. It could be in a game.

"But that is the one position where England have great cover, with the likes of Ledley King and Matthew Upson.

"I think we've got a core group of players that are as good as any other team in the tournament. It's whether we've got the strength in depth to compete.

"When you look at Spain and Brazil, their squads are very strong. But we don't have to play either of those two until later in the competition."