England Under-21 captain Jordan Henderson has admitted that he was at a loss to explain why his side had a goal disallowed during their 1-0 defeat to Italy.

Stuart Pearce's team thought that they had taken the lead in the U21 Euro 2013 clash through Craig Dawson's second-half header, only to have the goal struck off for an apparent foul.

"I don't understand why it wasn't given at all, none of the players really understood what was going on and I can't explain it really. It was very confusing," he told Sky Sports News.

"I thought the referee was pointing at the kickoff spot so everyone was celebrating. It was a good few minutes until they took a free kick and everyone was a little bit baffled to be honest, but that's football."

West Bromwich Albion youngster Dawson echoed Henderson's sentiments, but is giving the referee the benefit of the doubt.

"I didn't think there was too much wrong with the goal but it's one of those things and the referee has obviously seen something that we didn't," he said.

"It seemed a bit delayed his reaction but we realised that it was ruled out. It's not something the players have talked about."

A late free kick from Lorenzo Insigne secured all three points for the Italians and moved them to the top of Group A.