Liverpool ace Steven Gerrard couldn't explain England's lack of possession against Italy.

Gerrard could offer no explanation for what went wrong.

"I don't know," he said. "It's a difficult question to answer and I am sure it's one of the biggest points of this tournament that the management and coaching staff will have to look into.

"Keeping the ball - especially at this level - is fundamental. It's key if you want to beat the big teams in these tournaments.

"You work so hard without it your opponent ends up running you into the ground and creating chances.

"Football's a mad game at times. If we had won the penalty shoot-out we would have been through to the last four. I don't look at stats too much unless it's clear time and time again that something's sticking out so obviously.

"In this tournament we have come up short as far as possession is concerned."