GLENN HODDLE'S England failed their first real test of this World Cup in Toulouse last night when they were out-passed, out-smarted and out-gunned by Romania.

An edgy England were unable to repeat the passing game that had seen them sweep Tunisia aside last week and with Alan Shearer isolated up-front alongside an out-of-sorts Teddy Sheringham, they never looked capable of winning the match. Defeat means England are now unlikely to top the group, and that could well mean a second round tie against the fantastic Argentinians.

18-year-old Michael Owen (pictured right) was ''bitterly'' disappointed to finish on the losing side after marking his second World Cup appearance with a brilliantly opportunistic goal that looked to have rescued a point in what was a below-par performance from Hoddle's men.

The England coach said: At this level, you can't defend like that on two separate occasions and expect to win games. We were very, very sloppy and naive in every sense. It was a horrible situation to let a goal in like that at the end. There was nothing wrong with the performance and, over 90 minutes, we created the better chances and should have won. It was a bitter pill to swallow and we really should have dealt with it. The morale of the lads is good and we know what we've got to do against Colombia.