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da wazamba： England manager Roy Hodgson has stated that he is proud of his players despite their Euro 2012 elimination at the hands of Italy.
With the game going to penalties after a 0-0 draw, Ashley Young and Ashley Cole missed spot-kicks to see the Three Lions crash out of the tournament.
Despite this, Hodgson cannot fault the effort shown by his players.
“I thought the chances were there for both teams. I actually thought we created some very good chances ourselves,” he told reporters, published in Sky Sports.
“But as the half wore on, and extra-time, I thought we were tiring badly and we weren’t able to establish enough good possession in the midfield so they came at us time and time again.
“In some ways, you might have even preferred it if they’d have got a goal in that time when they were playing well as that’s a little bit less of a cruel way to lose than on penalties.
“We’ve gone out but we’ve gone out without actually losing the game and I think we’ve gone out with our heads held high.
“I personally think the lads have done a fantastic job for their country and I also think that people have appreciated it.
“I really can’t fault the players for their effort. Towards the end we had a lot of players out there running on empty really.
“Tired legs, fighting off cramp – but they kept going right to the end.
“But when you go to penalties you have a chance. Unfortunately it was Italy who took that chance and not us.
“The five penalty takers we have are good ones and we’ve been doing a fair amount in training with Ashley Young smashing in penalties on a regular basis so of course you hope.
“I know everyone in this country has an obsession with penalties and that’s going to get even worse now but the fact is you can’t reproduce the tired legs.
“You can’t reproduce the pressure. You can’t reproduce the feeling of nervous tension. They stood up to it better than we did, (Andrea) Pirlo’s penalty being a classic example,” he concluded.
By Gareth McKnight
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