When the disappointment is not so raw, England coach Roy Hodgson will probably be asked to take great encouragement from the way his newly-formed team gifted him a night of vibrant attacking football.
The England team, also nicknamed by fans as The Three Lions, played as if they wanted to establish an entirely new reputation in one night. Yet the sense of anguish is considerable, bearing in mind they have lost their opening match and the path out of Group D looks increasingly hazardous.
They gave everything and, in an attacking sense, the decision to play Raheem Sterling behind Daniel Sturridge was instrumental in ensuring England frequently menaced their opponents. Sterling was outstanding on a night when, ultimately, there were heavy repercussions for a couple of moments of slack defending, most notably when Mario Balotelli headed in the game’s decisive moment five minutes into the second half.
England would conceivably have to win their next two matches, starting against Uruguay in São Paulo on Thursday, but at least they can be lifted by the way they passed the ball, particularly in the first hour. Their movement has never been better in the Hodgson era, encapsulated by Sturridge’s first-half equaliser shortly after Claudio Marchisio had rifled the opening goal past Joe Hart.
Unfortunately for Hodgson, his team’s back line was vulnerable too often. The defending was generous for Balotelli’s goal and if England are to save themselves they will have to remove the errors that undid so much promising work further up the pitch.
Hodgson’s selection will be commended for its adventure and, if nothing else, maybe now he can be spared the tag of conservatism. Sterling was not there as the classic No 10 but because Hodgson thought the teenager could endanger Italy’s central defenders with his directness and searing pace.
The player actually wearing the No 10, Wayne Rooney, was shifted to the left and Danny Welbeck, who usually plays on that side, was moved to the right. Hodgson’s selection was ambitious, experimental and a good riposte to those who feel he lacks boldness. Yet it took some working out and he was taking a calculated gamble. Rooney and Welbeck have never been paired this way for Manchester United and Hodgson’s team have not trained this way once in Brazil or, before that, the week-long training camp in Miami.
Hodgson had pinned his hopes on his attacking quartet adapting quickly to the new structure and how encouraging, almost reassuring, it was to see an England side willing to take on high-calibre opponents from the start. By half-time, it is no exaggeration to say England had created more difficulties for Cesare Prandelli’s team than they managed in the entire 120 minutes of their Euro 2012 quarter-final. They attacked with pace, vigour and real penetration and, more than anything, the sort of fearlessness that saw Sterling, with his first touch, elude a defender and send the ball soaring into the side-netting, fooling half the stadium into thinking they had witnessed one of England’s great World Cup goals.