John Terry has no doubts his schoolboy friendship with Ledley King will ensure England's defence will be watertight for their World Cup opener against the United States on Saturday.

With Rio Ferdinand ruled out of the tournament, Fabio Capello has to choose another central defensive partner for his former captain and, although he rarely trains due to chronic knee condition forces, it seems King is going to get the nod.

Terry played with Tottenham centre-half King at the famed Senrab Boys Club and the Chelsea skipper said: "In a football sense I always had an understanding with him."

He added: "We used to get told off all the time for talking and get sent around the running pitch in training.

"But have kept in touch ever since and followed each other's careers.

"He really is a Rolls-Royce of a player and I still could not tell you if he is right or left-footed.

"He has great feet and is a joy to play alongside.

"People say that he does not train but he still does a lot of gym work and swimming and a lot of short sharp stuff which keeps his fitness.

"And you can walk through stuff and have a chat about things after training.

"His fitness levels have impressed me and I don't think it will be a problem."