Steven Gerrard has admitted that England's 2-1 loss to Uruguay on Thursday has left his team "clutching at straws" over their World Cup aspirations.
Roy Hodgson's side are on the brink of suffering a group-stage exit for the first time since 1958, as an 85th-minute winner from Luis Suarez condemned England to defeat in Sao Paulo.
The Three Lions need to beat Costa Rica in their final Group D encounter on Tuesday and hope that Italy win their remaining two fixtures in the pool to stand any hope of making the last 16.
As a result, Gerrard, whose error led to Suarez's late winner, believes that it would be a tall order for his nation to progress into the latter stages.
"Italy are a fantastic team and capable of winning both games but we're clutching at straws," he told FIFA.com.
"The position we're in is the position we didn't want to be in coming into the tournament, relying on other people's results. It's very difficult at the moment."
England's fate could be sealed this evening if Costa Rica emerge from their clash with the Azzurri with a point or better.
