Rio Ferdinand: 'England need to learn from Germany'

Rio Ferdinand has expressed his belief that England need to follow in Germany's footsteps and learn from their mistakes in the past.

Die Mannschaft claimed their fourth World Cup trophy as they defeated Argentina 1-0 in the final at the Maracana.

Ferdinand feels that their success in the past few years has stemmed from the lessons they learned in their failure at Euro 2000 and their 5-1 hammering at the hands of the Three Lions in 2001.

He wrote in the Daily Mail: "They didn't blame the players for losing, they realised that the system was wrong and they changed the system.

"We need to do the same thing. We have to stop blaming players like Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard... there was talk about how they had lost heart, they hadn't given enough for their country.

"I promise you, this is absolute rubbish. When a player pulls on an England shirt he will do anything to win for his country. But there comes a time when it needs more than heart... it needs a proper structure that enables them to be the greatest team they can."

England recorded their worst performance at the World Cup since 1958 as they exited the tournament at the group stage.