We can wait and see who we will be playing and approach it the same way.
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He however, refused to blame the manager Hodgson.
Gareth Bale struck his third goal in as many Euro 2016 games as brilliant Wales cruised into the last 16 as winners of Group B with a clinical 3-0 dismantling of Russian Federation on Monday. Neither came to pass.
Relive the most striking images from the Euro’s matchday 11, with England looking lacklustre, and Wales stunning the group. At some point, we will win by two or three nil but we just need to improve in that final third.
England failed to “unlock the door” against Slovakia but Ryan Bertrand remains positive about their Euro 2016 chances. “Anything can happen in the next matches”. “As a nation, geographically we’re small, but for heart, we were a continent tonight”. On the other side, a storm was brewing as Wales took on Slovakia.
Rooney was thrown on as part of the cavalry charge after 55 minutes as the experiment started to unravel.
England’s performances so far have probably been slightly better than their results, but failing to win the group could prove costly.
No-one can say with 100% confidence that England would have won with a full-strength side. In fact, numerous changes worked out well, particularly Jordan Henderson, Clyne and – at least in the first half – Vardy. Croatia meanwhile take on a third placed team and then either Poland or Switzerland for a place in the semi-finals.
A thrilling last-minute win over eventual group winners Wales was sandwiched between two disappointing draws against defence-minded opponents but the manager suspects things may be different from now on. “It’s not something that, quite frankly, I’ll be considering yet”, he said of the possibility.
Chester, 27, owes his Welsh qualification to his Rhyl-born mother and only made his global debut two years ago before the start of the Euro 2016 qualifiers. “Or is everyone trying to score as an individual?” asked former England right-back Danny Mills.
“We are not doomed yet”.
But Hodgson said: “We’re not doomed yet”. We will score goals one day.
“We are into the next round and nobody will want to play us”, said the Manchester City man.
For England and Hodgson, however, the reverse is true.
Hodgson’s men were on top and after five minutes Vardy directed a cross from the impressive Nathaniel Clyne just over in unorthodox fashion, before Sturridge was denied from close range by Peter Pekarik’s pressure.
Hodgson’s bungled team selection was another example of the muddled thinking and lack of a clear plan that appears to have overcome England since they landed in France.
“There is no point harking on about the first game”. More household names from Wales are starting to be talked about. This was another example.
Jack Wilshere was the newcomer who struggled the most.
Players including Wayne Hennessy and David Vaughan were put through their paces in preparation for their last 16 clash with either Turkey or Northern Ireland at the Parc des Princes on Saturday.
This is not his fault.
Wilshere is a fierce competitor and may turn things around but his selection now looks an indulgent mistake of the sort Eriksson made when he took David Beckham to the World Cup in Japan in 2002 and Rooney to Germany four years later.
For Coleman, who played 32 games for Wales and experienced the lows of failing to qualify for major finals along the way, it was a night to remember.
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Left-back Neil Taylor was the unlikely scorer to make it 2-0 10 minutes later, when he shot home at the second attempt, and Gareth Bale made it three goals in as many games by finishing with the outside of his boot.
