“Of the 14 teams we have seen so far, England had more shots on goal than any of them. Needless to say, conversion rate was not in the top 10.

Even more stunning is that England’s passing accuracy ranks 2nd, just behind Italy, but ahead of Spain, Holland and Brazil. Go boys!

Here’s another beauty. For passing accuracy in the opposition’s half, England come out on top. Stats exclude crosses where England are last.”

These three statements have been tweeted by Gary Linekar and for me they sum up why we should be full of optimism despite the rrsult against Italy.

Yes the result wasn’t ideal but the positives were there for all to see and they are so encouraging for me, as an England fan to see, especially with the future in mind. I wouldn’t mind if we go out in group stages as long as we play well because the encouragement would carry over to the Euros when I think we can really challenge.

Going forward I think we need to play Rooney through the middle as he isn’t a winger and he is still one of England’s best players and allow Sterling to attack down the wings and drift in when he pleases and I do still believe we can get through this group.