Steven Gerrard has blamed England's World Cup failure on over-confidence.
The 26-year-old midfielder admits the team were not good enough to succeed in Germany this summer and, after being so bullish, their quarter-final exit to Portugal was embarrassing.
“It pains me to admit this but it needs saying. We were not as good as we thought we were,” Gerrard wrote in his autobiography, extracts of which have been published in the News of the World.
“On arriving in Germany, England were guilty of over-confidence.
“It was ours for the taking. No-one was better than us. Me and the other players placed too much pressure on ourselves by constantly claiming we could win the World Cup.
“Stupid. We talked ourselves up too much. Never again. In future tournaments we must learn to be humble. Be calm.
“We went around Germany blowing our own trumpet and returned home mute with embarrassment. I went back to England with only regrets for souvenirs and I was not alone.”
The selection of untried 17-year-old Theo Walcott raised eyebrows at the time and later proved to be a mistake as the player did not feature in any of the games.
Gerrard added: “A few decisions were wrong, like not taking five strikers. He [former manager Sven-Goran Eriksson] certainly shouldn't have brought Theo Walcott to Germany.
“Not only were England embarking on an arduous World Cup campaign with only four forwards but one of them was Theo Walcott.
“I almost fell over when I heard. Now let's get one or two things right about Theo. He's a nice lad and one day he will mature into a very good player.
“But he had no right to be in Germany. None at all. I was gobsmacked to find him on the plane.”
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