Scott Parker has hailed the "courage and heart" that England showed during their 3-2 defeat to the Netherlands at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder captained the side for the friendly as goals from Gary Cahill and Ashley Young turned around a two-goal deficit to seemingly salvage a draw for the hosts.

However, Arjen Robben's late strike secured the win for the Dutch.

"I thought we showed great courage and heart to get back into the game," Parker told reporters. "Going two goals down, we'd fallen apart really. Holland have got world class players, and sometimes it's as simple as that.

"The way we've performed tonight, we don't think sheer grit, determination and courage is going to win you a tournament.

"We understand that we need to work on things and get technically better, but we all need to stay positive and realise that tonight is a great hope for us. Coming back from 2-0 was massive really."

England's Euro 2012 preparations continue with a friendly in Norway on Saturday, March 6.