Steven Gerrard plans to put his friendship with Anfield teammate Luis Suarez to one side for just 90 minutes as England attempt to resurrect their World Cup hopes by beating Uruguay this evening.

The Liverpool captain and his international colleagues were widely praised for a performance packed with verve against Italy last weekend, but ultimately suffered a damaging 2-1 defeat in Manaus.

To have any chance of progressing from a difficult Group D to the knockout rounds in Brazil, the Three Lions must claim a positive result from their tie with Suarez and the South Americans.

Gerrard, therefore, knows his strong allegiance to the Reds' No.7, who is expected to start in Sao Paulo after missing his country's opening match, will have to be forgotten for one encounter.

"If I walk past him in the tunnel I will say hello and shake his hand but, at that moment, I am not really looking for friends or club-mates," said the 34-year-old.

"Before and after he is a friend and a teammate. He knows that once that whistle blows there is no friendship at all between me and Luis Suarez for however long we play."

Gerrard, who should earn a 113th cap for England tonight, continued: "There is a respect but we are both focused on the jobs we need to do for our teams."

Uruguay were rocked in their opening game of the tournament, enduring a shocking 3-1 loss to Costa Rica despite taking an early advantage in proceedings on Saturday.

Roy Hodgson's team intend to maintain their attacking philosophy, which almost paid dividends against Italy, but the skipper cautioned that alert defending is of utmost importance.

"We have to be bold and aggressive - that is where we looked our strongest against Italy - because our attacking play will cause our next two opponents endless problems," he added.

"The key is how we defend. Uruguay's strengths are their front players: Edinson Cavani, Diego Forlan, Gaston Ramirez and Luis Suarez. They are the players who can hurt this England team."

In a moment of trademark leadership, Gerrard delivered an inspirational team-talk to the Three Lions squad in the aftermath of their first match. So, what was the midfielder's message?

"Basically, just to be really proud of the effort and commitment we gave against Italy and not to get too down with the result," explained the Huyton native, one of six Reds in the group.

"But, going into this game, to realise it could be a terrible, long, frustrating summer if we don't get it right on Thursday.

"There is no hiding place for a player when you go out of a tournament earlier than you expect. It can be tough and it can take an awful long time to get over it.

"A lot of people know that in the dressing room but there are a few young lads in there too, so it was important for them to realise what is at stake and how important this game is.

"If a defeat was to happen, it would probably be the most difficult place to be in as a footballer. We need to make sure we give everything out on that pitch so we wake up on Friday morning with three points on the board and feeling on top of the world."