Roy Hodgson was in typically prickly mood after watching his side beat Denmark 1-0 tonight.
"It was a good second half performance," he said Roy.
"We passed the ball neatly enough but without the right tempo. We put that right in the second half, we got in good crosses, it would never be easy, Denmark are no mugs."
Hodgson is very protective of his selection and that included the young players brought in.
"You won't get me to say anything negative about any of the young players," added Hodgson.
"There were seven of them finding their way, we created goal chances too.
"I'm sure Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana will go back to Southampton very happy ( with their performances).
On the thorny subject of who will go to Brazil at left-back, Hodgson trotted out his usual mantra - everything was positive and I haven't made any decision.
"Ashley and Luke Shaw both did very well. I hope to see more of Cole, Shaw and Baines playing for their clubs before I decide..
"I was not surprised by Ash's performance. I'm a fan of Cole, he demands my respect, as he should yours, he is very fit - at the top of the running statistics in training. His problem is that he is a specialist player. You don't play two (left backs in the side) and Cole is not playing for his club side at the moment."
As for the rest of the side, Hodgson was less impressed by the forwards, at least in the first half.
"We have lots of options up front. In first half we wanted Rooney, Sturridge and Sterling. We have opportunities before first World Cup game to see them gel.
"The level of competition is getting greater. We were not as effective in first half, we did not get forward enough. But we did second half.
"What I have learnt is that there is an incredible focus from the 29 players who were with us. It means a lot to them they want to impress me.
"My decision will be made in what I think is the best principles. You will have a lot to say about the players who I leave out.
"Every team needs good luck we did not need it tonight.
"There are a lot of young players in this squad, over half were under 23-years of age. We are looking in that direction."
On Jack Wilshere, Hodgson said: "I was always going to play him for 45 minutes. The kick he got early on with Daniel Agger made it a more obvious decision. I was concerned when he went down. Thankfully it was just a kick,on the foot and a bruise and he will be patched up back at Arsenal."