England captain Steven Gerrard has stated that his side must be patient in their attempts to break Moldova down on Friday.

The Three Lions open their World Cup qualifying campaign against the eastern European side, and the Liverpool midfielder is expecting his team to have to bide their time in the search for goals.

"It can be difficult to break sides down," Gerrard revealed in a press conference, published in Sky Sports.

"But the good thing is that in our squad we've got players who are used to that in the Premier League - we play for top teams and you come up against teams that put 11 men behind the ball.

"As long as we're patient and don't force the issue, it doesn't matter when we score or how we win - as long as we do."

England's second game comes in quick succession as they host Ukraine at Wembley on Tuesday, and Gerrard is hoping for six points from the two matches.

"It breeds confidence for the team and the squad," added Gerrard

"The idea this week is to get six points but the important thing is to focus on Moldova. We are confident we have the players who can get the three points," he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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