'Devastated' Roy Hodgson has high hopes for England's future
Manager puts faith in young talent as England make their earliest exit since 1958 World Cup
England manager Roy Hodgson believes there are exciting times ahead for his youthful squad despite overseeing his country's first group-phase elimination at a World Cup for 56 years.
Costa Rica's shock 1-0 win over Italy in Recife condemned England to a first-round exit for the first time since Just Fontaine and a teenaged Pele were plundering goals at the 1958 tournament in Sweden.
We had high hopes, we thought we could make an impact. But unfortunately we haven't won the games
After an unbeaten qualifying campaign and pre-competition training camps that Hodgson described as "perfect", England's World Cup lasted just six days, with consecutive 2-1 losses to Italy and Uruguay.
Bottom of group D, England now face the ignominy of playing their final game against a Costa Rica team who could rest players in preparation for the last 16.
"I'm very low, yes. So are the players," he said.
"We had high hopes, we thought we could make an impact. But unfortunately we haven't won the games. To make an impact, you've got to win games, and we've lost both our games."
