Ian Bennett is looking forward to seeing his old teammate Phil Jagielka in World Cup action this summer.

The Everton star, who is expected to take a centre-back berth in England’s big Group D opener against Italy in Manaus on Saturday, June 14, played alongside ex-Town keeper Bennett at Sheffield United for a season.

“Back then Phil was thought of as a midfielder,” said Bennett, who joined the Blades, the club he supported as a child, from Leeds in 2006.

“But he was one of those types you could have played anywhere and he’d have done a decent job.

“He had all the right physical attributes, but I also remember him being composed and being a very good reader of the game.

Everton and England's Phil Jagielka
Everton and England's Phil Jagielka

“He’s made a good captain at Everton, and that doesn’t surprise me.”

Jagielka, having played 287 times for United, headed to Goodison in a £4m deal in 2007.

He has made 243 appearances for Everton and has 24 caps.

Now 31, he provides experience in a squad which includes the youthful promise of players like Jagielka’s Everton teammate and midfielder Ross Barkley, 20, Southampton left-back Luke Shaw, 18, Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling, 19, and Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 20.

Former Southampton player Oxlade-Chamberlain made his senior debut for Saints against Town in 2009-10, the season before Bennett was signed by the John Smith’s Stadium club.

Bennett, 42, doesn’t go as far as another former Town and Sheffield United player, striker Bobby Davison, who has said England can win the World Cup.

But he believes lower-than-usual expectations might help them.

“For once, we’re going into a tournament without all the usual fanfare,” he added.

“It’s going to be tough just to get out of the group, because Uruguay and Italy are both decent sides, and let’s not forget no European side has ever won in South America.

“But I’m looking forward with a sense of anticipation, and I like the squad Roy Hodgson has picked.”

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