Jack Butland: "We weren't good enough"

England Under-21s goalkeeper Jack Butland has offered a frank assessment after their 3-1 defeat to Italy saw them knocked out of the European Championships on Wednesday.

The defeat at the Ander Stadium condemned Gareth Southgate's side to an early exit in the Czech Republic, and Butland accepted that the Young Lions simply weren't good enough over the course of their three games.

The Daily Mail quotes Butland as saying: "We weren't good enough. It's fine margins in these tournaments and we conceded two sloppy goals in two minutes and that's cost us our tournament.

"You've got to be ruthless at both ends of the pitch, our box and the other, and we weren't that.

"We haven't quite been that all tournament. You can play as well as you like between the posts, doesn't matter if you're not good enough either end and today we weren't."

Meanwhile, manager Southgate refused to condemn his players after the defeat to the Azzurri.