England winger Theo Walcott has refused to be downhearted despite the Three Lions being dumped out of Euro 2012 by Italy.

 

Roy Hodgson’s men battled bravely against the Azzurri, even if they were outplayed for most of the game and lagging behind badly in terms of possession and attempts on goal.

 

And England took the contest to extra time and then penalties, where an Azzurri miss at 1-1 handed the initiative to the Three Lions.

 

Misses from Ashley Young and Ashley Cole though allowed Italy to win the shootout and now England are heading home from Poland/Ukraine.

 

Walcott however is staying positive and looking ahead to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

 

"The Italians play great football and frustrated us going forward. It just wasn’t meant to be and it is a cruel way to go out. The lads can be proud we got this far", said the winger after the final whistle.

 

"Bring on the World Cup qualifiers now. We will be much stronger next year.

 

"We couldn’t get the goal at the start and [Gianluigi] Buffon made some world-class saves. We’ve had some luck, at times, but tonight, it didn’t go our way."

 

England’s next competitive match is an international friendly, strangely, against Italy.

 

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