Gerrard says England gearing up for 'major test' against Italy

London, June 20 (ANI): As England marched into the quarterfinals of the Euro 2012, captain Steven Gerrad has said that playing against Italy will be a major test, and are not going to take them lightly.

As the winners of Group D, England now face Italy in Kiev in the Sunday's decider, that would reveal which team gets to go into the Euro semi-finals.

"We came into this group and it was a difficult group. The idea was to win the group, nobody believed in us at the start. If we do well in the next game we might play Spain again. Spain are a fantastic team. So are Italy. We take each game as it comes and the Italians are next," the Daily Mirror quoted Gerrad, as saying.

Gerrard also claimed that returning hero Wayne Rooney will get better with each game and England earned their luck to beat Ukraine.

"It was a tap-in for Wayne Rooney. You'll have to ask him if it's his easiest. If he keeps scoring those he'll take us a long way. They are just as important as the 30-yarders," Gerrad said.

"I said before how important he is to the team and nation and he proved that in this game. He will get stronger every game, get more confident and grow in belief. He's so important to us," he added. (ANI)