Raheem Sterling is the reason England must remain upbeat ahead of Suarez clash

Losing your opening game at a World Cup is a blow and Saturday night’s defeat leaves England’s hopes of progressing hanging in the balance. But I honestly think there are more positives than negatives to take from the game, with Roy Hodgson’s gamble on Raheem Sterling - and the teenager’s fearless performance - both reasons to be optimistic.
I say this with my professional head on and as an England fan, and I’d be surprised if a lot of my fellow England fans disagreed. Sure, I would have liked us to win, and we came closer than many may have expected.
But Sterling, still 19 and in an England senior shirt for just a fifth time, was a breath of fresh air, attacking without fear, taking people on, going for goal, playing like he’s enjoying trying to win.

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Reason to be cheerful: Raheem Sterling was superb against Italy, here taking on Andrea Pirlo

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Gamble paid off: Sterling was a breath of fresh air and attacked Italy at every opportunity

His pass to Wayne Rooney that Rooney then crossed superbly to Daniel Sturridge for 1-1 was a peach. And his early shot on goal from distance that rippled the side netting rather than ending up in the back of the net was the kind of effort that makes you get out of your seat.
Danny Welbeck was lively too, although perhaps slightly more cautious. Rooney, as I’ve said a number of times, should be playing in his preferred position. But given that he’s not, he still laid on England’s goal.
The downside was the way England conceded two goals. The first was a training ground move, executed beautifully. Claudio Marchisio’s shot - after Andrea Pirlo’s insouciant dummy - went through legs and Joe Hart had no chance. But as with the second goal, when Mario Balotelli met Antonio Candreva’s cross, being completely switched on to all the possibilities of Italy’s options would have limited them.

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Lively: Danny Welbeck was good, if more cautious than the rampaging Sterling

The upshot is that in football your most important game is always the next one — and after Saturday night, for England that now means Uruguay in Sao Paulo on Thursday. There couldn’t be more at stake.
England are capable of winning but there will be some major psychology at play because of Luis Suarez and his closeness to his Liverpool team-mates.
I’ve been there and done that in terms of playing against a club-mate in a massively important World Cup match, never more so than in the 2006 quarter-final against Portugal.
Alongside me in the England line-up that evening in Gelsenkirchen was fellow Manchester United player Rooney — and we were up against United’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
We all know how that ended, with a draw and the heartbreak of penalties, again, for England. Ronaldo winked after Wazza was sent off. There were all sorts of suggestions that they hated each other, to the extent that when we all got back to United training we handed them both boxing gloves! They didn’t need them, they were fine.
But it highlights the special tensions at play. On the one hand, there’s comfort in it because you know everything about them — their capabilities, moods and motivation.

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Team-mates: Steven Gerrard consoles Luis Suarez following the draw against Crystal Palace

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Best of enemies: Gerrard must not show Suarez (right) any mercy when England face Uruguay

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All smiles: Gerrard and Suarez celebrate the Englishman's goal against Sunderland in March

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Double-edged sword: Gerrard and Suarez will know everything about each other

But there’s also a negative that falls somewhere between respect and fear, because they know you so well too, what you can do, and especially your weaknesses.
So assuming Suarez is up against Stevie Gerrard and Jordan Henderson in England’s two-man defensive cover shield, he will already be armed with all the knowledge of how to take advantage.
I’m certain there will have been no contact between England’s Liverpool players and Suarez in Brazil. You need a clinical emotional detachment at times like this, no hint of club camaraderie.
On the pitch you are enemies with just one focus: winning.
If this sounds extreme then it goes further. I was mates with Frank Lampard as we came through the West Ham youth system together in the nineties. We spent a lot of time together, were close friends, had all that shared experience.