San Marino have lost their last 50 games and are officially the worst team in international football but Gerrard knows from bitter experience that England can be contained by opposition who they are expected to easily beat.
Steven Gerrard has warned his England team-mates to be prepared for San Marino to adopt any available tactic, whether within the rules or not, to frustrate and restrict them on Friday.
San Marino have lost their last 50 games and are officially the worst team in international football but Gerrard knows from bitter experience that England can be contained by opposition who they are expected to easily beat.
Against Andorra in 2007, England were booed from the pitch after a goalless first half and ultimately had to wait until the 54th minute before Gerrard scored in an eventual 3-0 victory. Gerrard later described the match - which was the low point of Steve McClaren's England tenure - as among the most difficult of his career.
"The pressure is all on us," he said. "They're happy to stop us and keep the scoreline down. They'll slow the game, give stupid fouls, get on to the referee, do anything they can to stop us scoring. I'm sure the pitch will have a few issues as well
"If we don't win the game by more than four goals, we'll get it (criticism) anyway. These games are different challenges and things we're not used to. It's attack versus defence. Their tactics are to frustrate."
In such circumstances, Gerrard knows that the timing of the first goal will be critical. "The pressure grows," he said. "The longer the game goes on at 0-0, it gets a bit edgy. You're more tense and the fans get frustrated which adds to the pressure. We don't want to experience that. We'd like to go in a couple of goals up and then build on that.
"This is about the tempo and our professionalism. It's important we don't get dragged down to what they want, to play slow and disrupt the game." Tonight's match has already been partially overshadowed by the controversial withdrawal from the squad of Rio Ferdinand but Gerrard is adamant that it has not impacted on the concentration of the players.
"I just try and keep the players focused," he said.
Gerrard would not be drawn on Ferdinand's specific situation but, having not missed a minute in the Premier League this season for Liverpool, the comparison between their respective schedules and apparent priorities seems telling. "I'm not tired," said Gerrard. "My body's good, I'm good. I have my own personal programme that I stick to. Two days of recovery after a game, taking it easy. Playing for England is the pinnacle of everyone's career. If I'm not playing I'll be very disappointed.
"Of course, I'm disappointed that Rio is not here because he's a fantastic player and he's in top form. I don't know if Rio has turned his back on it. I don't know the details from his side. But that's what I want to achieve: help take this team to a World Cup in Brazil. At my age, there's no better stage to play on."
The absence of Ferdinand from central defence has been compounded by injuries to Michael Dawson and Gary Cahill, who will also miss the World Cup tie in Montenegro next Tuesday. Chris Smalling and Joleon Lescott are expected to be paired together tonight, with Hodgson saying that it would be "harsh" on his four centre-backs to use midfielder Michael Carrick as an emergency replacement.
Ashley Cole, who with Lescott, Jermain Defoe and James Milner is only one booking away from suspension, is not expected to start at left-back but should return in place of Leighton Baines against Montenegro.
Meanwhile, the potential UK television blackout of England's game against Montenegro was avoided yesterday after ITV agreed a fresh deal to secure the rights to show the game.
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