The Three Lions skipper says the refusal to play for a draw cost his side dearly as they went down to defeat against Uruguay

By Kris Voakes at Arena Corinthians

Steven Gerrard has blamed a lack of game management for the defeat against Uruguay which leaves England on the verge of elimination from the World Cup.

The 2-1 reverse to a side inspired by two goals from Luis Suarez means England must rely on two more victories for Italy if they are to qualify from Group D.

And the skipper admits his side lacked the experience to play more cautiously having equalised late in the game through Wayne Rooney.

“We never managed the game well enough when we got the equaliser. We can’t give chances to Luis Suarez because he buries them from that position,” Gerrard told reporters after the game.

“I just thought we needed to be a bit more clever, a bit more cute and a bit more difficult to beat. Maybe accept that going for a point might have been the best option.

“At 1-1 as a team we sort of went for the second goal and maybe we should have been more experienced and gone for the draw.”

The Liverpool captain insists that his side haven’t played too badly despite back-to-back defeats, but admits they are now facing elimination barring a miracle.

“I’m sort of frustrated because looking at the two games and how we have performed, we sort of deserve something out of either one of them if not both of them,” claimed the 34-year-old.

“I don’t think I am standing here saying we were poor in both games and our gameplan was wrong.

“At this level it is such a cruel level. You can’t give world class players chances – that’s one thing – and when you are still in the game you need to be more difficult to beat and that was the disappointing thing for me.

“Italy are a fantastic team and capable of winning both games but we’re clutching at straws. The position we’re in is the position we didn’t want to be in coming into the tournament, relying on other people’s results. It’s very difficult at the moment.”

England still have Costa Rica to play in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday but they know that anything other than an Italy win against the Central American side in Recife on Friday will mean they are already eliminated from the competition.

Luis Suarez stole the show with two goals which have left England needing a miracle to progress but his coach also paid tribute to the Paris Saint-Germain striker

By Kris Voakes in Sao Paulo

The defensive effort of Edinson Cavani in shutting down Steven Gerrard proved crucial in Uruguay’s win over England on Thursday, according to Oscar Tabarez.

Luis Suarez stole the show on his return from injury, finishing his only two chances of the match clinically either side of a Wayne Rooney goal to keep Uruguay’s qualification hopes alive and leave England needing a miracle to progress.

But after the match Tabarez was keen to credit Cavani who, aside from creating the first goal for Suarez with a pinpoint cross, diligently tracked Gerrard out of possession.

“England doesn’t have weaknesses, they are very strong, have incredible midfield and have four strikers who are all goalscorers,” Tabarez told reporters.

“But we played very well and Cavani played a very important role to counter that. Gerrard couldn’t play his game because Cavani was stopping him, so today they had more difficulties than normal.

“I think that was the key to the game. England are a wonderful team and are dangerous opponents, that’s why we’re so pleased to have won.”

Tabarez was also buoyed at seeing his team end a 15-game losing streak against European opposition so soon after the disappointment of shock defeat to Costa Rica.

“If this was a movie, people probably couldn’t have wished for a better result,” he added. “We have been able to beat a European team after a long, long time. Many people said we wouldn’t be able to do so.

“Both goals were scored by Luis Suarez, a player who was injured a month ago and had to go through surgery. We are not qualified yet for the next stage. However, we are happy we get some fresh air.”

The Liverpool striker scored twice in defeating England in their Group D encounter, claiming it was the perfect response to the criticism they received after losing to Costa Rica

Luis Suarez revelled in Uruguay’s 2-1 win over England, suggesting that his side had reacted in the best way possible to their loss to Costa Rica.

The Liverpool forward, who hadn’t played since undergoing knee surgery in May, scored either side of a Wayne Rooney tap in to give Oscar Tabarez’s side a vital win in Sao Paulo.

Speaking after the game, Suarez could not hide his delight at scoring twice on his return from injury and suggested that Uruguay had answered their critics after their 3-1 defeat to Costa Rica last Saturday.

“I’ve dreamed of these goals,” the 27-year-old told reporters.

“We suffered a lot. But we won and that’s what really matters. Now we’ve got a strong challenge ahead and we have to play Italy, which will be a harder match.

 “And to those who criticised us, there you have it”.

Suarez enjoyed a superb season with Liverpool, scoring 31 times in 33 Premier League games, but it was feared he would not be fit to take part against Roy Hodgson’s side and was emotional in describing the impact of national side physio Walter Ferreira on his recovery.

“I was suffering from cramps more than 10 minutes before my second goal,” he continued.

“But something told me I couldn’t leave the pitch. When celebrating my first goal, I had to go and thank our physio because if he wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have been able to play in this World Cup.”