Steven Gerrard battles in Tel Aviv - but the midfielder knows England must improve.
By Chris Hatherall. Sunday, 25 March 2007.
European Championship 2008 Qualifier, Group E
6.30pm, Saturday 24 March 2007
Ramat Gan Stadium, Tel Aviv
Current group standings - click here
Archive: England's record with Israel - click here
Steven Gerrard has insisted the Three Lions can still qualify for the finals of Euro 2008, providing they learn lessons from a 0-0 draw in Tel Aviv.
England's goalless draw in Israel, together with victories for rivals Croatia and Russia, has left Group E looking daunting.
But Gerrard is adamant Steve McClaren's men can still reach the finals in Austria & Switzerland if they continue to believe in each other.
He said: "I think that, as one of the more experienced players, I want to try and be positive. I’m not going to give up now.
"It would be silly of me to say we are not going to qualify, we still have a great chance. But we definitely have to improve in the final third, that’s for sure."
Gerrard says drawing in Tel Aviv felt like a defeat for the England players because they had enough posession and goalscoring opportunities to take all three points.
He added: "The manager asked for a clean sheet tonight and three points. We delivered the clean sheet but we haven’t been clinical enough in front of goal to complete the job.
"If you don’t take your half chances at this level you don’t deserve to win. But that's not just down to the strikers it's down to the six or seven players in the final third. We need to be better in the final third from now on."