Harry Maguire revealed England's despair after feeling ready to win the World Cup before the defeat to France.
Harry Kane missed a decisive penalty towards the end of the second half to see the Three Lions out at the quarter-final stage after a 2-1 defeat.
It leaves a previously confident group failing to end of a run of disappointment at major tournaments since last winning the competition in 1966.
The 29-year-old central defender revealed how England’s dressing room lay almost silent after losing through goals from Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud.
“It was pretty quiet if I am honest,” Maguire said at Al Bayt Stadium. “A lot of lads just sat there disappointed. That’s the hardest thing to take. We believed we would win the tournament.
“They are the world champions and for me, I think they will go on to lift the World Cup, but being totally honest, we were a lot better than them in a lot of areas.
“They are the World Cup champions for a reason. They are clinical, ruthless, they’ve got experience. One thing I would say about this group of lads, I think we’ve proven tonight that we belong on this stage in these big games at these big tournament knockout matches.
“I think we’ve proven that tonight even though we’ve lost the game.”
Maguire was excellent throughout the tournament and started every match despite having a rocky road leading into it.
He had been booed by England fans at Wembley Stadium in March and many didn’t want him even included in the squad after he started just five games for Manchester United leading into the competition.
Maguire, who had simply not been selected and left out by his club through injury, admits he is proud to have proven his worth again.
“I’ve played every game,” he added. “I’m proud of my mentality to prove it to myself again. I don’t need to prove it to others. I don’t do it for myself. I look at the team every time I put on this shirt and I want the team to do well.
“I would have preferred to have had a bad game and got through.”
England and the Football Association (FA) will enter a period of reflection where manager Gareth Southgate will need to decide his future.
The Football Association (FA) want him to stay and Harry Kane led the calls from the squad for him to continue leading the team.
Maguire joined the calls for him to stay: “I think over the last five or six years we’ve had Gareth you can really see the development. I know being England manager is so tough.
“You get scrutinised for every decision or squad you make. It’s all about he should be in, he shouldn’t be in, every team he picks you should play, he should play. He knows how to handle it and does it really well.
“Tactically, he gets all the big decisions right and he has proven it again in this tournament. I think, listen, this is tournament football. You can only look after the performance. Against Croatia four years ago, we didn’t play well enough to get to the final.
“I think tonight we lose but we’ve done everything right. Sometimes it is just football that the best team doesn’t win and that’s why everyone loves the game.”
