Heskey (right) - new sense of belief.

By John Curtis, PA Sport, Shizuoka

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Emile Heskey has insisted that the days of being scared by Brazil are in the past as he sets his sights on an England-Germany World Cup final.

The Liverpool striker still has plenty of respect for the four-times winners and believes that Ronaldo has returned to his best in the current tournament.

But he is adamant that Sven-Goran Eriksson's side will not be intimidated by the Brazilians in Friday's quarter-final meeting in Shizuoka.

Heskey: "I think the time when everyone looked at their team and got scared is over. Now the rest of the world looks at England and sees we have stars just as big as theirs like Michael Owen and David Beckham.

"Look at the support we've had here. It's been unbelievable. I think some of our players are as famous and as popular as Brazil's now. Definitely.

"I wouldn't say I'm glad we're playing Brazil. I'd much rather be playing Belgium to be honest but there's no big deal for us about who we are playing anymore.

"Most of our players have played against their top players already in the Champions League, so their reputation doesn't intimidate us. I've played against Rivaldo, Lucio and Cafu for Liverpool. The Manchester United lads have also played against their best players."

Heskey believes that Ronaldo could be the big dangerman given his record of scoring in every game so far.

He said: "I think Ronaldo has made all the difference to Brazil. He is looking very sharp again. The fact he has scored in every game so far tells us we have to be careful.

"I think it's fair to say he's back to his best but we just have to get on with it and do what we have to do."

Heskey admitted: "There's no doubt this is the biggest game of my life so far but I hope the next one and the one after that will be exactly the same.

"In the World Cup you have to play the best teams eventually so why not now? I want us to get to the final and I hope we play Germany there.

"That's our ambition now. I know the people back home think we have done very well but we're not finished yet. It's our intention to go all the way. I don't want people to be saying 'bad luck' when we get back home. I want to win."

Eriksson will be hoping that Thursday's weather - a torrential downpour - will be repeated on Friday to help keep down the anticipated high temperatures.