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NEIL ASHTON: England will never compete at the highest level until they learn to keep possession of the ball

By Neil Ashton17:04 15 Jun 2014, updated 17:23 15 Jun 2014

Off the park: Juventus star Andrea Pirlo (right) made 41 more accurate passes than Steven Gerrard

Italy recorded 93.2 per cent passing accuracy during World Cup win against England
The Azzurri completed 561 of their 602 passes
Andrea Pirlo made 108 passes, the most so far in a 2014 World Cup match
Steven Gerrard made 62 accurate passes as England lost in Manaus

Roy Hodgson is not a great lover of statistics. 'I prefer the naked eye,' he admitted ahead of England's 2-1 defeat against Italy.

It will not matter a jot to England's head coach that Andrea Pirlo, the outstanding player on the field, had 117 touches of the ball and completed 100 passes in the Arena Amazonia.

His team-mate Daniele de Rossi, stationed in his familiar central midfield role, had 114 touches. He was the second best player on the night.

Intricate: Claudio Marchisio (left) Daniele De Rossi were key to Italy's passing game

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The best teams in the world, Italy among them, are trying to tell England something and yet this country continues to ignore it at almost every level of the game. It is heartbreaking.

Instead we are told that the national team's philosophy is to play a hybrid of traditional English guts with some glamour touches for a few key players. It isn't working.

Pick the bones out of England's 2-1 defeat in the Arena Amazonia and this was yet another lesson in possession.

Glen Johnson, at right back, had more touches (82) than any other England player. Steven Gerrard, with 78 on the night, was miles off the standard set by the world's best players in midfield.

People were crowing about England's 93 per cent passing success rate in Manaus; what they didn't mention was that Gerrard (67) was the highest in the England team. Pirlo (108 attempted passes) and De Rossi (105) were operating at another level.

Until this country is dragged kicking and screaming into the modern era and the possession game, England will never stand a chance of winning a major football tournament. It just isn't possible.

Second fiddle: Gerrard (right) had a pass accuracy of 92.5 per cent, but only completed 62 passes

Learning curve: Jordan Henderson (left) had a good game but couldn't match the Italian's ball possession

When Germany beat England on November 11 last year, Toni Kroos had 125 touches of the ball in our own backyard.

In Bayern Munich's Champions League tie at the Emirates, Kroos had 175 touches. It was a masterful performance.

Watch Germany on Monday night in their opening group game and two or three players in midfield areas will have more than 100 touches each. England rarely get anywhere near it.

Spain mastered it at Euro 2008, the World Cup two years later and again at Euro 2012.

When they were beaten 5-1 by Holland in their opening group game in Brazil, many celebrated the demise of Vicente del Bosque's team.

In the past eight years Spain have won more trophies than England have in their entire history and there is still much to learn from them.

Those who are stuck in the dark ages will argue that it's all down to what you do with the ball when the players are in possession.

True, but no-one has ever lost a football match when the ball is in circulation.

Until England learn to keep control of a game, they will never compete at the very highest level.

Sportsmail's Neil Ashton delivers his verdict on England 1-2 Italy