England striker Owen says the Three Lions squad, and Head Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, staged an emotion-charged inquest into the performance as they sat in the dressing room afterwards.

And for anyone who thinks players don't care about losing matches, his quotes are an eye-opener.

The Newcastle man said: "Of course we felt it. We're part of it, we're English - and we're all football fans. The players were all hurt, they care. And I never want to feel like that again.

"It was a very poor performance. As a squad of players there are plenty of times when you are up and there are also plenty of times when you are down. And this was a down.

"After the game we sat together in the dressing room and of course Sven showed he was disappointed, as we were.

"We had a good chat for a long while. It was not acceptable, we know that."

The frustrating thing for England is that they have to wait a full month to put things right in October's qualifiers against Austria and Poland. But Owen is confident the players will make amends for what happened in Belfast.

He said: "It is often the biggest test of a squad when the chips are down and you have got to stick together.

"After the tie we were hurting and we collectively said we don't want this feeling again. Hopefully we will put it right in the final two games and it is in our hands to go and win the group."