Gary Cahill and Joe Hart are confident that England can handle the conditions in Manaus ahead of their opening World Cup game against Italy on June 14.
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Roy Hodgson's side take on the Azzurri in what will be testing conditions in the Group D clash; the northwest Brazil city is in the heart of the Amazon -- the world's biggest rainforest -- and reachable only by plane or boat, and the humidity could present problems for both European sides.
With the pitch in a "bad shape" according to the head groundsman at the stadium, the Three Lions may face a battle to get out of the group -- but Chelsea defender Cahill insists that England have had the "best possible" preparation for the game.
"I don't really know what to expect. We've been told, obviously, about the humidity, but that's what we've been training for, preparing for for the last couple of weeks," he told reporters at a news conference on Thursday.
"We've done the best we possibly can. We've trained in hot climates, we've worn extra layers of clothing... Obviously as English players we are not used to it. In the three weeks we've done as much as possibly can."
Goalkeeper Hart revealed that England's preparation for the conditions included "heat chambers", but admits that Hodgson's team will have to wait until the game itself to discover how they will really cope.
"It's a football pitch," he said. "We are playing in the middle of the jungle. It's a different experience for all of us. It's an interesting one, it's an exciting one. It's a World Cup, we'd play on anything to play in the World Cup."
Much has been said of the threat that Andrea Pirlo will pose in Manaus, with the Juventus midfielder dominating England when the sides met in Euro 2012.
Cahill, though, says there is no scheme to stifle the Italian talisman, stating: "I don't think there is a master plan; I think we are respectful of what a career he's had, and what a player he is but there's certainly no master plan in terms of individual players.
"It's the way we want to play, approach the game. More importantly, it's about what we want to try and do.
"We don't fear Italy because we are confident in the squad that we have got. We are mindful that they have got some great players but we certainly don't fear them."
And Hart -- who was beaten by Pirlo's "Panenka" penalty chip in 2012 -- feels the Three Lions have evolved since that tournament, saying: "So much has changed since then, so much has changed for us.
"We are confident, like we were when we went into the game last time," he said. "We progressed in that tournament. We want to get off to a good start this time."
Given the testing conditions, Cahill believes England will have to allow Italy to have possession at certain stages, and be prepared to hit Cesare Prandelli's men on the break.
"There's times when we have to be a bit more cautious and let them have the ball in certain conditions, and then times where we can attack and hurt them, but the main stat in the game is obviously going to be the score," he added.