Joe Ledley: Wales in a fantastic position to progress despite England defeat

Hodgson said he now faced a selection headache for the final match as Group B leaders against Slovakia in St Etienne on Monday, knowing a draw will be enough to see his team through.

Manager Roy Hodgson was delighted at the way his side beat Wales 2-1 – the first time they have won after trailing at half-time in major tournament finals – in Lens on Thursday to top the group with four points from two games. “We are here to get through to the last 16”.

“It was gut-wrenching for the players and our supporters”, said Coleman of Sturridge’s victor in the 92nd minute of the match.

Gareth McAuley opened the scoring for his side early in the second half with a neat header, before Niall McGinn finished off the job with the last kick of the game.

Hodgson’s choice and timing of substitutions was criticized against Russian Federation on Saturday – England conceded a late goal to tie it at 1-1 – but he got it right at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

Roy Hodgson expressed precious little sympathy for Wales after England benefited from a last-gasp goal just days after succumbing to one.

“You know you’re going to be up against it from the start, it was a tough game, but we did everything we could to keep them at bay”. We’re gutted, absolutely devastated.

“You have to ride your luck a bit, but in the main they had a lot of possession. but it’s not like (goalkeeper) Wayne Hennessey pulled off save after save”, he added.

“I think it showed what a good squad we’ve got, with some very exciting young players”. We all trust that whoever is playing will do a good job.

“There are a lot of positives we can take and maybe the thing we can improve on is keeping the ball a bit better”.

“This is not the end of Harry Kane’s tournament and he still has a big part to play at Euro 2016”.

Kes Walsh, from Blackburn, said: “I have never heard a cheer like that in here before when the second goal went in”. Their effort and courage was fantastic. Vardy? Rashford?’ Can I bring someone on in midfield to manipulate the ball, etc, which I’m hoping in the future could be very useful for us going further in the tournament?’

‘For all the goals Harry Kane has scored for Tottenham over the season, we were all looking for an impact in these opening two games of England’s group – and he could not make it.

“The fashion we lost it was a bitter pill to swallow, but you have to get over it”. You get caught up in it, but you have to get it out of your system; we can’t take it into the next game.

We think that looks pretty good, although would perhaps bring Jack Wilshere in for Dele Alli, who like Kane, looks exhausted following a frantic title push with Spurs.