World Cup Football Focus Special Football Focus

night before, where England have just arrived back after yesterday's

match. We will hear the views of our guests on England's opening World

Cup game, a match that was watched by over 15 million at home into the

early hours of the morning. This is the best of the action.

Welcome to the Jungle, 900 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Phil

Jagielka is on guard and ready. It was Antonio Candreva who allowed

Matteo Darmian to get forward. The Italians love to fire in the low

crosses. Goodness me, that was close! The net

rippled rather than bulge. Raheem Sterling is in the team, that is

why. We are counterattacking. Danny Welbeck is the best in England

at this possessing defenders. That is why he is in the team. He is a

real team player. England on the front foot from the

start. Andrea Pirlo asking for the

handball. Glen Johnson was lucky, the Italian players around the

referee. A good decision in the end, I think. The neutrals are slightly

in favour of Italy. They are not hurting us at the moment.

It must have wobbled and dipped, Joe Hart just about dealt with it.

Danny Welbeck feels he was blocked, I do not think he would have reached

it anyway. It was good defending in the end from Gabriel Paletta,

blocking Danny Welbeck. He does not trouble his former

Manchester City colleague Joe Hart. You cannot let Mario Balotelli do

that. He has a wonderful shot on him.

It was just too high for Daniel Sturridge. It will be a corner, it

was so very nearly an England goal. A wonderful run from Danny Welbeck,

dragging out Gabriel Paletta. England looked dangerous along

beside channels, they do not look and double defending in the wide

areas, the Italian centre-backs. Daniel Sturridge got a nick on it.

It took Wayne Rooney by surprise. Leighton Baines was ready to block

it. It seems as though the wind is with the Italians at the moment.

Into the net. A super strike by Claudio Marchisio. It has been

coming. It has been coming in the last two or three minutes, a

wonderfully worked corner, Andrea Pirlo again, wonderful vision.

Claudio Marchisio still had a lot to do in that position. It was the

dummy from Andrea Pirlo, wonderful vision. It went through the legs of

two or three England defenders. It gave Joe Hart no chance. The

Juventus man gives Italy the lead. Wide eyed Italian joy.

We were talking about Andrea Pirlo's 360 degrees vision. He knew

exactly where Claudio Marchisio was. A good finish from Daniel Sturridge.

England level instantly. Italy caught on the counter. Raheem

Sterling, Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge. Raheem Sterling made the

goal, he picked it up in the middle, that is why Roy Hodgson picked him.

A wonderful cross from Wayne Rooney. The first cross he has got into

night. That is what he is in the team to do, put crosses in like

that. Daniel Sturridge has scored in three of his lust for England

appearances now. He only had one shot at that.

A brilliant attempt, and fantastic defending from Phil Jagielka.

Wonderful defending from Phil Jagielka. Joe Hart did really well

not to commit himself. He could have caused a penalty.

Off the post. I thought it was going to his knee Kim.

Salvatore Sirigu beats it clear, positivity from the England number

nine. Matteo Darmian is always ready for the opportunity to get over

halfway. Mario Balotelli, goal. Something just told us he would play

a big part to night. It was the right hand side again. Four or five

crosses went in in the first half. Gary Cahill was expecting Glen

Johnson to be covering, he was not, he had followed Claudio Marchisio. A

wonderful header. The right-hand side again, he has not managed to

pick up Antonio Candreva. A lovely finish from Mario Balotelli. England

had it to do again. What Steven Gerrard brought down? A goal kick is

because. There was definitely contact there. Should he have been

appealing for it? I have seen them given.

Wayne Rooney pulls it wide. A great chance for Wayne Rooney. The

pass-through from Leighton Baines. Wayne Rooney has cut it back through

the legs of the Italian defender. A double block, Phil Jagielka and

Gary Cahill. Salvatore Sirigu eats it clear, not

for the first time tonight. An England free kick. It came

through the back of Daniel Sturridge.

It could not beat Salvatore Sirigu. He could not have done much more. It

was a good effort, that is his side. Ross Barkley has got his hands on

his head, he is looking at Wayne Rooney and saying, that was mine. It

was on his weaker foot as well, Wayne Rooney.

Thiago Motta blogs by Tim K Hill. Thiago Motta used his experience

there. Joe Hart stranded, beaten,

helpless, the crossbar to England's rescue. I do not think it will make

a difference to the outcome of the game, but it stopped it becoming

three. You forced Italy to play very well

tonight. They are a good team, we do what they were going to do, they

never surprised us, but it is disappointing, because we have put

so much into it. It is difficult to look back and think about the

positives, but England's attacking play showed so much promise. We got

criticised two years ago for sitting back and being toothless, but

anybody who watched that game could see that we were trying to create,

we pushed and pushed, and we gave it everything we had got. We did not

deserve to lose, we played some good stuff. Created icky chances. We were

quite unfortunate, but that is football. That is how it goes. It is

always difficult when you lose. Even at 2-1, I thought we would get back

into it and go on to win, because it was quite a dominant second-half

performance of. But it is the best I have seen the team play as a team

during my time with them. It looks like the left-hand side was causing

problems for England. Didn't feel like that on the pitch? Definitely.

When our striker moved inside, therefore block -- their full-back

came on a bit. We are fully aware that is where the second goal came

from, so we will try to correct it. He ran in there and caused problems

but it is just that final ball. Yes, it was disappointing. We are better

than that. We were desperate at the end for that goal and there were

several times we were in good crossing or shooting positions and

we didn't take advantage of it. We need to work on that. We have to win

the next game. Tonight was a disappointing setback, but we move

on. A tough game coming up. After one game to be in that must win

situation against Uruguay, that is difficult. We always knew it was

going to be important, regardless of tonight. Can England still qualify?

Yes, of course we can. We are downhearted and sad it did not go

our way. We were hoping for a perfect start but we don't live in a

perfect world. I've got great confidence we can do well enough in

the next two games that we can qualify and I'm sure the players

will get over this disappointment. That is what the England camp

think, Leicestershire you what the papers are saying in the UK. They

are all focusing on Balotelli this lunchtime, possibly because it is

easy to make a pun out of! There are a lot of players who have come onto

the scene in the last six months, even. We got a lot of options going

forward but now we need to get the balance right. The only waited it

that is to keep playing the strongest team. I don't believe we

were ever going to win this tournament. I think we can compete

and it is a good learning process, but realistically, last night, on

many net occasions we were naive. Leighton Baines should've been

screaming at Wayne Rooney well before the attacks were coming. But

he doesn't have the confidence. So if there is now, there are positives

as well. There are, and if England play like that going forward against

Uruguay and Costa Rica, they will qualify. It is a team which is a bit

and usual pub Roy Hodgson, it is about going forward. To make

yourself difficult to play against does not take a lot of effort. That

is something they will be working on. I'm positive. It's great that it

is positive when looking at going forward, but should it be all about

going forward when you're opening World Cup match is about the

Italians's there was shocking defending. They goes through the

left-hand side. It is not the first time we've discussed and England

left hand side. The problem is Rooney. I don't think he wants to

play out there. If I was him, I would knock on the door of the

manager and say, look, put me on number nine on number ten position

will leave me out. I think the criticism Rooney gets is unfair. The

problem is he is doubled up against. Leighton Baines has to say to

Rooney, look, just sit in. That's all you need to do. You want to

dissuade people from playing the ball in there. He's not quite sure

whether to go wide or to tuck in. If Rooney stops a full-back going

forward in that position then Leighton Baines can take his

position. Most teams played three midfielders, they don't play at

number ten. We're trying to play four, so the two lads in midfield

really could have balanced. There was a really anyone breaking

forward. The funny thing is Danny Welbeck went over to left-hand side

after half-time. I'm listening last night to the guys in the studio

saying that he did well and he is in the team to retrieve the ball. But

my dog can retrieve the ball. You're not in the England team because you

can retrieve the ball. He should be more positive. He adds to play

Rooney in his best position. I think he is a scapegoat, it is harsh on

Rooney. What was the whole thing about him playing on the left

generally for England? People were saying the great thing about him is

that he will work hard and he will make it difficult. I think we are

all the same with Rooney. Play him in number ten. Play him where he

will get more of the ball because he makes things happen. Let's look at

some of the stuff that he may tap in. He put the crossing for the

first goal. If he was Italian, he would be in the number ten position

for Italy. They've lost the ball, that is a great cross. It is a great

goal. He makes things happen, that's what he does. Allen Muhammad Rooney

for this last night. That is harsh. You've come inside, I think it is

unfortunate. The big dilemma is, does sterling play well in that

position's I would put him on the right. I would say to Rooney, you

are my main man. Let's just show the touch map for Wayne Rooney

yesterday. He had 42 touches. Only two of them were in the area. The

one you can see at about 14 yards out was the one where he had the

shot. The only way it would work playing like that is when he comes

inside, he gets the ball because a full-back Binks, I won't go in

there. But we didn't get him the ball. You want someone who actually

enjoys playing that position. Wayne Rooney doesn't enjoy that. That's

the whole thing, when you play centrally, quite naturally you see

more of the ball. And if he sees more of the ball, he makes things

happen. 91% was England's pass completion, the highest ever

recorded in a World Cup game in 66, so at least they are completing

their passes. The astonishing thing was Andrea Pirlo, who made the most

parsers so far. Here are his touch, 116 touches overall. The worrying

thing was England players are going down with cramp. There is a

35-year-old guide their running the show. England are going down with

cramp, I do get that. To me, they are inexperienced. We need basically

what the squad was. The majority of that team had been around for a long

time. You are only going to get more experience by playing them. Let's

get the views of former England midfielder Danny Murphy. England's

opening game has ended with a defeat to Italy. Danny Murphy is here to

assess the game. Let's do three bad, three bad. Let's start with the

negatives and build to the positives. What three things do you

think went badly for England? They will be disappointed with this set

play. It was clever but it was avoidable. They just switched off a

bit. Conceding a set play always upsets a manager and a defender

alike. And you are concerned about England's left-hand side. That would

probably be the biggest negative of the evening. It was partly due to

England's poor defensive play. Pork indication, lots of factors. But

also due to the quality of the Italian players. That is a worry, we

did not fix that all evening. And also you mentioned the number of

England players who went down with cramp in the last 15 minutes of the

game. I understand that sometimes, I've suffered it myself and you

cannot help it. We've got a mixture of experience and younger players,

but it wasn't just begun the players. Steven Gerrard got cramp.

Raheem Sterling is probably the one he was allowed because of his age

and the amount of running. You would argue some of the Italian players

are not particularly athletic. Of course, it is difficult when you are

chasing a game. But still, too many players tiring late in the game is a

pain for Roy. Now, the positives. Raheem Sterling was a huge positive.

He started the game on the front but. His first competitive game to

cause the Italians that many problems with his enthusiasm, his

dribbling. He drifted a bit as the game went on, but he was still a

threat and he is a certain star in the forthcoming game against

Uruguay. Before the game he said Daniel Sturridge would score and he

did look like a prat. He made it look easy. Did he worry their

defenders when he got them one-on-one? Yes, you did. He showed

pace and invention. He was unlucky in the second half and again he

tired, which is understandable. We talk so often about players not

transforming their club form into international form, but he

definitely did that. And what is the last positive? I think the positive

is we've got two games left, so don't panic, and it is against

opposition not as good as Italy. So all is not lost. It is

disappointing, but the hardest is out of the way. Always nice to

finish on a positive. Thank you. Let me read some tweets. He should

drop Rooney and bring Lallana in. Charlie says the pundits are

treating sterling as the treated Beckham. Rooney could become

England's scorer without ever calling at the World Cup. Having

watched Andrea Pirlo taking that free gig at the times, I still have

no idea how he did it. He went to training, you tried it and tried it

and he couldn't get it. He kept working on it. One day, it clicked.

He kept smashing the ball into the top corner. It is like hitting a dip

in Bali off the ground. He went to training and he practised and

practised. Only four sides out of 46 have lost their opening game and

maybe knockout stages. That happened to you. What did you say after that?

We have to win the next two! No, we knew that we had enough to get out

of that group. You just have to take positives from it. Last night,

England played all right, they played well. They looked bright,

they had enough of the ball. They just got done by a very experienced

team. Spain lost Bears, didn't they? The other thing about that as well

is England will only get better. Last night, they actually passed the

ball instead of holding it. They played like a European team. Nearly

20,000 of you have sent in pictures. Plenty of people stayed awake past

their bedtime to cheer the country. Look at that. Here is another one,

someone making a special effort to decorate their living room. And even

nations hats showing support. required on Thursday, they started

against Costa Rica yesterday without Luis Suarez.

The ninth meeting between the sides, Costa Rica have never won. It is a

penalty to Uruguay. He is grabbed hold of there. Edinson Cavani.

He scores, and the pockets of Lou rejoice. He was close to getting to

it, right in the corner from Edinson Cavani. What a save! It took a

wicked deflection off Oscar Duarte, that is a terrific save.

What a goal, Costa Rica! Joyous scenes in that corner. He does

brilliantly to get this across, Uruguay at sixes and sevens, and

what an emphatic finish that is. Oscar Duarte is there! 2-1, Costa

Rica! Oscar Duarte steers it beyond the goalkeeper, who has no answer,

it is a perfect finish. Joel Campbell is surely the Man of the

Match. I do not believe this! Marco Rainer, he has only been off the

bench for less than 90 seconds, he has just scored his first

international goal for three years to surely wrap up this game and give

all the points to Costa Rica. That is wild from Maxi Pereira, it will

all kick off now. He should not be doing that, he is far too

experienced to lose his cool in that fashion. It is a red card. His World

Cup finals could be over already. What a miserable day for the

semifinalists of four years ago. Next four England is Uruguay. Costa

Rica will play Italy. Is that a good result for England, Costa Rica? Yes,

England will beat both of them. Uruguay are worse defensively than

England. Much is made about Luis Suarez possibly coming back, but he

has not played football since the 11th of May. He could only last

about 60 minutes. People were talking about the concerns for

Uruguay, it was their defence. They are ageing.

Take us through the weaknesses of the Uruguay defence. All over the

place. That is why I would play Stirling there, his pace would cause

the left-back all sorts of problems. This was the free kick, look at the

Uruguay players. If Steven Gerrard can put the into that area, it a

race. Also, they will be without the other full-back, Maxi Pereira,

because he has been sent off. They are weak at full-back, that is why I

would go with clean Stirling or Adam Lallana or Adam Oxley Chamberlain.

The back four is very slow. They are an ageing team. They are a bit like

Atletico Madrid, they work hard for each other, is Luis Suarez is not

fit, England will definitely win. Him and Eddington -- Edinson Cavani

can cause problems. They are not normally as bad as that, they

normally work hard, they have got a good shape. They let Edinson Cavani

and Luis Suarez win them the game. They have had a really bad day. I

think we have got enough to beat them, but it will not be as easy as

it was for Costa Rica. They will target England's left, presumably.

They will target England defensively. Luis Suarez can play

anywhere, he is brilliant at finding space, which all top players. It

will be any chesting game, the weaknesses of the teams are

defensively and the strength of attacking wise, so it will be an

open game. Group C will provide England's second round opponents if

they get through. A convincing win for Columbia over Greece, they took

an early lead through Pablo Armero, who was on loan at West Ham last

season from Napoli. 1-0 at half-time. Teofilo Gutierrez put

them further ahead in the second half. The highly rated hammers

Rodriguez added a third. It finished 3-0. Those of you who managed to

stay up until 2am to watch the second game in that group between

Ivory Coast and Japan will be delighted to know we can now enjoy

the best of that match. A goal! Japan in front, it is the

golden boy, Keisuke Honda of Milan. After just 16 minutes. He got two

goals at the World Cup four years ago. He gets there first of the

tournament in Brazil. Their first real period of play inside the Ivory

Coast penalty area. real period of play inside the Ivory

Coast penalty Third goal at a World Cup finals.

What a good cross, and on the end of it, Wilfried Bony, to equalise for

the Ivory Coast. The Swansea City striker with his ninth international

goal, to bring it back to all square. What a delivery. Wilfried

Bony attacked it, got there first. There was only one outcome, no

chance for the goalkeeper. Ivory Coast are a different

proposition now. Another good cross again, and they have scored again,

Gervinho. Two goals in 90 seconds. They have turned this game around.

Didier Drogba's presents has changed the way the Ivory Coast have played.

A good strike and a decent save. The goalkeeper got down well to his left

to keep it out. Can they get three points on the board straightaway? A

gold would seal it at this stage. Agonisingly close to an Ivory Coast

third. Three games on the way today,

Switzerland play Ecuador, followed by France against Hondurans, and

this evening, it is all eyes on you know who.

You are part of the commentary team, are you excited? Yes, and with

Alejandro Sabella, he has found a place for Leonel messy, just behind

the front two. It would not be a great World Cup without a great

Lionel Messi performance. Bosnia will be not easy. They scored many

goals in qualifying, Safet Susic was a great player, he has got the team

playing. He believes the best way to get a performance out of his team

will be to attack. Edin Dzeko scored 18 goals in qualifying. You are part

of the studio team for France against Hondurans, this is France in

training, practising their keepy-uppies. If they tried to many

skills, their opponents will love them. That is the only played they

can stop them. Look at that! Not one of them has led the ball dropped.

They are professional footballers! But it is great to watch. Chris, you

do a lot with French football, they are worried about their opponents

who physicality. France are not the most physical side, the back four

can handle themselves, but the midfield and attack do not do the

physical side. The French will not enjoy that. In one of their warm up

games, they played three up front, but they might have won laptop.

Olivier Giroud might have to be sacrificed. This is how the Germans

are preparing for their opening game against Portugal, they are doing a

bit of jet skiing. Then, they are in their dinghies as they speed through

the ocean. If they win, it is a good idea. As long as none of them get

injured. There is plenty of ways to enjoy the best of the World Cup, you

can download the catch up every morning from 6:30am or enjoy our

daily highlights on BBC Two. Thierry Henry will be in the studio

for the France match. Then, Bosnia's World Cup debut. Thank you

very much to my guests, lots to enjoy in a tournament that is off to

a flyer, we now want England to pick themselves up to stay at the World

Cup party. Goodbye. Goodness me, that was close! It was

just too high for Daniel Sturridge. Claudio Marchisio, into the net. A

good ball from Wayne Rooney, a good finish from Daniel Sturridge,

England are level instantly. Mario Balotelli is going to get there. Was

he brought down? A goal kick is the call. Wayne Rooney has put it wide.

He has gone for goal. That is it.