BIGGEST GAME IN A DECADE

FROM BACK PAGE but we had double objectives. The knockout game is the biggest in a decade for us.” Victory in Tuesday’s game in Moscow would set up England for a quarter-final on July 7 against Sweden or Switzerland.

The England boss added: “I think it was an even game. They had better controlled possession than us at times.

“It was a good test. It didn’t happen for Marcus Rashford but we don’t suffer for it. We P W D L GD Pts Q Belgium 33 0 0 7 9 Q England 3 2 0 1 5 6 Tunisia 3 1 0 2 -3 3 Panama 3 0 0 3 -9 0 want to win football matches so we’re not happy to come away being beaten.

“This was a game that we wanted to win, but the knockout game is the biggest game for a decade for us so we had to make sure our key players were preserved.

“The players who’ve played tonight have given absolutely everything and never stopped.

“Everyone’s seen the level that we’ve been playing at and we’ve got to keep improving.”

Had England topped the group the Three Lions would have faced Japan on Monday for the right to play either Brazil or Mexico in the last eight.

Midfielder Eric Dier said: “We want to win every game and we’re disappointed we couldn’t do that.

“It was quite an even game. We created some good chances. We needed to finish one of them, that was all that was missing really.

“The game was decided by a piece of great quality.

“We’re disappointed we’ve lost but the most important thing is that we’re through to the next round.”