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Cape Town - Jack Wilshere admits England cannot use their youthful setup as an excuse following their disastrous 2014 World Cup campaign.
Roy Hodgson named the second-youngest ever Three Lions World Cup squad heading into the Brazil finals, with 22-year-old Wilshere almost considered a senior, given the ages of team-mates Luke Shaw (18), Raheem Sterling (19), Ross Barkley and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (both 20).
However, they were unable to repay Hodgson's faith after losing both their opening Group D matches before ending the tournament with a whimper following the goalless draw against Costa Rica.
England have already returned home from South America where the dissection of their World Cup campaign is already in full swing, and Arsenal midfielder Wilshere refused to use their inexperience to deflect any criticism from the public and media.
"It's easy for me to stand here and say: 'we're young, we can go forward.' But if you look at Germany, they've got young players who are delivering now," Wilshere said.
"Time is running out for us to say we're young anymore. I'm 22, Ross and Luke (Shaw) and Raheem (Sterling) are young players.
"It is a nice group of young players and hopefully we can stick together, learn from this tournament, take all this disappointment and bottle it up. This is the worst feeling. I'm devastated."
Roy Hodgson named the second-youngest ever Three Lions World Cup squad heading into the Brazil finals, with 22-year-old Wilshere almost considered a senior, given the ages of team-mates Luke Shaw (18), Raheem Sterling (19), Ross Barkley and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (both 20).
However, they were unable to repay Hodgson's faith after losing both their opening Group D matches before ending the tournament with a whimper following the goalless draw against Costa Rica.
England have already returned home from South America where the dissection of their World Cup campaign is already in full swing, and Arsenal midfielder Wilshere refused to use their inexperience to deflect any criticism from the public and media.
"It's easy for me to stand here and say: 'we're young, we can go forward.' But if you look at Germany, they've got young players who are delivering now," Wilshere said.
"Time is running out for us to say we're young anymore. I'm 22, Ross and Luke (Shaw) and Raheem (Sterling) are young players.
"It is a nice group of young players and hopefully we can stick together, learn from this tournament, take all this disappointment and bottle it up. This is the worst feeling. I'm devastated."
