England captain Steven Gerrard was proud of his side's performance despite losing 2-1 to Italy.
Claudio Marchisio gave Italy the lead in the 35th minute, while Daniel Sturridge equalised a minute later but it was Azzuri who had the last laugh as Mario Balotelli popped up to head home the winner.
However, the Liverpool midfielder was not disappointed with his teammates despite losing the opener.
“It’s always disappointing to lose a game but I’m certainly not disappointed in my teammates with the effort, desire and commitment in the performance we gave," said Gerrard
“We can’t be down after a performance like that.”
“We’ve certainly moved on from two years ago,”
“I’m really proud of how we played.”
With a tough game against red-faced Uruguay later this week, the only way is up for Gerrard and his teammates.
“We can turn this mood around,” he said.
“Of course the result hurts but we’re big players – we’re men – we’ve got to get on.”
