Steven Gerrard admits he is "proud" of England's performance against Italy

England captain Steven Gerrard has admitted that he was "proud" of England's performance, despite suffering a 2-1 defeat to Italy on Saturday.

Goals from Claudio Marchisio and Mario Balotelli either side of Daniel Sturridge's equaliser meant that Roy Hodgson's side started their World Cup with a loss.

However, although disappointed with the final result, Gerrard praised the performance of his teammates, who ran Italy close throughout the game.

"It's always disappointing to lose a game but I'm certainly not disappointed in my teammates with the effort, desire and commitment in the performance we gave," Gerrard told reporters.

"We can't be down after a performance like that. I'm really proud of how we played."

England face Uruguay on Thursday evening.