How England can bounce back

Virtual Replay: 3D animation of the key moments from the match

By Phil McNulty
Our man with England

Teenage sensation Rooney rocked the French

England's players cleared the pain of defeat against France from their heads by training in a Lisbon heatwave on Monday.

Temperatures soared into the 90s as Sven-Goran Eriksson and his squad came to terms with how France had stolen victory in injury time in the Stadium of Light.

The inquests, however, were brief and to the point, instantly wiping away memories of those last two minutes when a perfect start to Euro 2004 was transformed into a nightmare.

England's players were all delivering the same message as they switched attentions away from France and towards the next game against Switzerland on Thursday.

And if some were asking questions about how England bounced back, the answer came in the shape of the positive noises and body language from the players.

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In simple terms, England were two minutes away from beating the best team in the world, and even defeat does not deliver anything like a fatal blow to their ambitions here in Portugal.

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The negatives were David Beckham's penalty miss, Emile Heskey's clumsy challenge that gave Zinedine Zidane his chance and a catastrophic, but uncharacteristic error from Steven Gerrard.

And Eriksson, despite a feeble defence, would surely not substitute Wayne Rooney if he had the decision to make again.

King (right) has an old head on young shoulders

Heroic failures have become a common currency for this England team, but this loss only becomes more worrying if it is not followed up by victory against Switzerland in Coimbra.

England bounce back from what happened in Lisbon's warm late evening by emphasising that it was the sort of display that would have taken care of most teams in the tournament.

Defensively they were largely untroubled, in midfield they gave France more than a run for their money and in attack Rooney showed he can live on this stage.

And Michael Owen will not be as quiet in this tournament again.

Ledley King's display was a real bonus, composure and pace being the hallmarks of an excellent display.

So ally this to the positive noises coming out of the camp, and it is clear optimism has not been dented by 90 seconds of bizarre sporting theatre.

A tell-tale sign came as the players emerged afterwards.

No sign of players hiding away or refusing to talk, no defeatist language - and no question the mood of confidence had been reduced by the roof falling in late on.

England look and sound as if they will bounce back in style.

Now the date with destiny comes in Coimbra on Thursday.