'Get behind the lads': David Cameron urges support for England team

 
Dejected: England fans in the Estadio do Sao Paulo after Roy Hodgson's men were beaten by Uruguay
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David Cameron has urged England football fans to "get behind the lads" and keep hoping that they can fight their way through to the knockout stage of the World Cup in Brazil.

The Prime Minister was among the disappointed England supporters who saw the team's World Cup hopes all but dashed following their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Uruguay.

Mr Cameron - who watched the match with friends in London - conceded that chances of Roy Hodgson's side progressing in the tournament were now slim.

But he insisted that all hope was not yet lost, telling fans: "We've got to stick at it."

"Obviously, it's very disappointing, because we all want the team to do well," Mr Cameron told BBC Radio Solent. "They are an exciting young team and it's disappointing

"But we've got to stick at it. There's an important group game still to go. You never quite know what's going to happen, and what will happen in the other Italy game. So let's just get behind the lads, give them one last great shout and cross everything in sight."

After two goals by Liverpool star Luis Suarez sent England to the brink of elimination, Hodgson's team are now depending on Italy to win their two remaining group-stage matches against Costa Rica and Uruguay. If Italy deliver the necessary results, England would need a good win over Costa Rica on Tuesday to survive on goal difference.

Mr Cameron was asked whether he could have a word with Italian PM Matteo Renzi and ask him to ensure that his country's team go all-out for victory in their two fixtures.

Laughing, he replied: "I was being asked that this morning, but there isn't really an international network where you can ring the prime minister and really get him to ask his team to make every effort.

"Every team goes into the World Cup wanting to win every game and I'm sure the Italians will feel like that. They will want to do as well as they can in the group, and I'm sure that when faced by their opponents they'll want to get stuck in."

He acknowledged voters in England will be feeling "depressed" at the football results, but said there were plenty of other sporting events coming up to lift the national mood.

"We're a sports-obsessed nation. We love cheering on our teams," said Mr Cameron.

"But the great thing about British sport at the moment is there's so much to cheer on. We've got England playing well against the Sri Lankans in the cricket, we've got a rugby team that I think has got real promise for the future, we had a fantastic Olympics where we saw talent on track and field and in every avenue there could be, and obviously we've got the Commonwealth Games coming up, which will be a great boost for the whole of the United Kingdom in July and August.

"There's plenty to cheer us up, but obviously when we lose a football match, we all wake up feeling a bit depressed."

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