The Three Lions boss insisted the Uruguay star needed to prove himself at the World Cup, after which he scored twice to set the country’s elimination from the tournament in motion

Luis Suarez has revealed that Roy Hodgson’s assessment that he must prove himself at the World Cup gave him the motivation to down England.

The striker made his return from keyhole knee surgery on Thursday night and scored two goals to leave the Three Lions without a point from their opening two group games for the first time in history.

Italy’s loss to Costa Rica on Friday confirmed England’s elimination and Suarez has called on Hodgson and his other critics to re-assess their opinion after “too many laughed” about his on and off-field antics.

“It wasn’t revenge but in England they talked about the injury and the coach had words that annoyed me,” Suarez is quoted as saying by The Liverpool Echo.

“It was one of the best games I’ve played. It’s an amazing moment for me.

“Maybe a few days ago I thought this wouldn’t be possible. Before the game too many people in England laughed about my attitude over the last few years.

“This is a very good time for me. I want to see what they think now.”

Suarez is now confident he can continue performing at the highest level in light of Hodgson’s comments that he is not a “true great”, with Uruguay going head to head with Italy on Tuesday for a last-16 berth.

“My wife and my two children are important to me and [Uruguay physio] Walter [Ferreira] is also important. The goals were for him because of what he did for me,” Suarez said.

“I have to thank him. I scored the goals but he is the man responsible for them.

“I was probably only 50 per cent fit but it is due to the work of all the fantastic doctors and physiotherapists that I was able to be 50% ready and I am thankful that that was enough to beat England.

“I have some more days to get ready for the next game now and the more I train the sharper and more ready I will be.”

The Argentina legend was disappointed by the performance of the England captain and believes he let his side down, particularly with his role in Uruguay’s winner

Diego Maradona believes Steven Gerrard needed to give England much more against Uruguay when the two teams met in Sao Paulo on Thursday.

The Liverpool midfielder has been criticised for his display in the 2-1 defeat in the Group D encounter, playing a negative role in both of Luis Suarez’s strikes, with England only managing to reply through a solitary Wayne Rooney goal.

Maradona believes that Gerrard, along with the entire Three Lions defence, should be held responsible for the defeat and singled out Roy Hodgson’s captain for particular criticism.

“For England, who dominated the second half but were let down by the final pass or the final touch, it was the same old story of what could have been,” the 53-year-old wrote in his column for Times of India.

“Gerrard and the English defence must take the blame for both Uruguay goals. When [Nicolas] Lodeiro started his run before the first, Gerrard could have done better.

“But Lodeiro passed it perfectly for [Edinson] Cavani, whose sublime cross eluded the central defenders and found an unmarked Suarez waiting joyously inside the box.

“It was Gerrard again who made a mess of a long shot from the Uruguayan goalkeeper after England had equalised. The ball went to Suarez, who once again found a lot of room in the penalty area before unleashing a ferocious shot.

“You can’t afford [to do] that with a striker of his class and England paid the price.”

Maradona also hailed the performance of la Celeste front man Suarez, believing his ability to find the net whilst England’s Wayne Rooney missed chances was a key difference between the two sides.

“Apart from scoring the only English goal, Rooney headed one onto the crossbar and on another occasion, failed to beat the goalkeeper from close-range,” the 1986 World Cup winner added.

 “It summed up the tale of the two strikers.

 “While Suarez became a hero by converting two of the chances he got, Rooney capitalised on just one of the several he had, and that made the difference in the fate of the teams.

“Uruguay won because they were better in handling their scoring opportunities.”

The 35-year-old has no doubt that his compatriot is good enough to become a success at Santiago Bernabeu, considering him one of the very best strikers in the world

Diego Forlan believes Uruguay team-mate Luis Suarez has the quality to prosper at Real Madrid and seal a reputation as one of the world’s top players.

The Liverpool striker made an impressive return from knee surgery against England on Thursday evening, scoring either side of a Wayne Rooney tap-in to give his side a crucial 2-1 win.

Suarez has now scored 41 times in 77 games for la Celeste and Forlan believes he should be looked on in the same light as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

“He is one of the best in the world,” the 35-year-old said in an interview with AS.

“He is very good. There are some big attacking players and you can name Luis as one of them. He is alongside Messi, Cristiano, Ibrahimovic. All are huge and to choose between one or the other is a matter of taste.

“Without a doubt,” he added when asked if Suarez, who has repeatedly been the subject of rumoured interest from los Blancos, had the class to shine at the club.

“I tell you – he is one of the best.

“He is a player who is in great physical and footballing condition and could very well play for Real Madrid.”

Uruguay face Italy on Tuesday in a game that will decide which of the two sides will join Costa Rica in the last-16 and Forlan, whilst delighting in their win over the Three Lions, acknowledged that they were under pressure to perform against the Azzurri.

“It was all amazing,” the Cerezo Osaka forward said of beating Roy Hodgson’s men.

“You can not stop thinking about what we have already achieved by winning against England, because it is a party. This victory helped us to continue to have options in the next game. There are still three points to play for.

“We needed the three points [and to get them] against a great opponent like England was spectacular. We will live and see what happens from now.

“We have to go game by game. It is difficult to anticipate events. The important thing is to qualify and then see what happens.”