Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney believe England were unlucky not to claim victory against Ecuador on Wednesday, but are happy with the team's progress as the World Cup moves nearer.
Following their arrival in Miami on Sunday, Roy Hodgson's men played the first game of a double-header at Sun Life Stadium and were held to a 2-2 draw by an Ecuadorian side also heading to Brazil.
The Three Lions came back from an early Enner Valencia strike to go in front thanks to efforts from Rooney and Rickie Lambert.
England 2-2 Ecuador
International Friendly
Sun Life Stadium, Miami
Wednesday 4 June 2014
But in humid conditions in Florida, the South Americans levelled through Michael Arroyo with 21 minutes remaining to share the spoils.
"It was very hot, the sun almost broke through in the second half which hasn't happened since we've been here really," said Lampard.
"The humidity is plain to see and it's going to be like it in Manaus, so they're saying, and you feel it. We''re not used to it, probably Ecuador are more so.
"They gave a lot to the game. I think we maybe tired towards the back end of it but there was a lot of good stuff before that."
The captain continued: "This was our first proper game in these conditions. We trained yesterday but you can't compare that to a match.
"We started the game brilliantly and it was really upsetting actually to go 1-0 down because we could have been one or two up by then.
"But we carried that on in the first half and some of our forward play, like balls flashing across the box, looked really sharp.
"Then, when you have gone 2-1 ahead, it was a bit disappointing that we didn't see it out and win the game. The good thing is we've got that under our belts and have a good week and a half now to the first game."
Rooney nets from close-range
And Rooney, who notched his 39th England goal to level the scores on the half-hour mark after a fumble by goalkeeper Maximo Baguera, was proud with his strike.
"I think we done enough to win the game," he said. "We created a few chances and it was quite difficult at times. We got caught a couple of times on the counter attack through our own cause, but overall I thought we deserved to win it.
"I always enjoy scoring for England, it's a great honour and something I'm proud of."
