Women's World Cup: Phil Neville challenges England to build on disappointing World Cup

England leave France with nothing to show for their efforts after losing in the third place play-off against Sweden

Phil Neville has challenged his England side to come back strong after a disappointing campaign came to an end in a “nonsense game”.

England fell short of clinching bronze in their final match of the tournament, losing 2-1 against Sweden in Nice.

England found themselves two goals down after 22 minutes and pulled one back through Fran Kirby’s strike but left France empty handed after Ellen White’s second-half strike was ruled out by VAR for a handball in the build-up.

While England have gone backwards from finishing third in the 2015 World Cup, Neville believes his side will eventually get the success he thinks they deserve after a disappointing campaign.

"The courage my players had, the bravery they played with, the spirit and togetherness, everything I have wanted for 18 months, they have come here and delivered," he said.

"There is many a champion that has had to suffer before they get what they think they deserve.

"My players are suffering, but I am immensely proud and we go home tomorrow, will spend time with our families, then in two weeks' time we will dissect and debrief, and get back on that horse again."

The England manager admitted his side’s poor start to the game was down to the fact they were still hurting from the dramatic defeat against the USA in the previous game.

"I think there was a carry-on from the semi-final, the emotion and the two goals probably sparked us into a bit of life," said Neville.

England leave France empty handed (Getty) (Getty Images)

"I don't think I have seen us play better than after that first 20 minutes, there was courage going forward and both teams were on their knees."

"We gave it our best shot but fell short," he added. "We have just got to make sure that next time we are better."

"Probably in that first 20 minutes we were still showing the disappointment of what we felt against USA.

"We came to this tournament to win it, not to finish fourth. Now we just have to make sure that every single one of us is better."

The third place play-off game is a tricky fixture to motivate a side for given both teams have just missed out on the final and probably want to go home and Neville said his side were feeling the effects of that.

"It's difficult to get yourself up for a third-place game,” he said. “Well done Sweden but it's a nonsense game. We came to win the World Cup, not to finish fourth and we must do better. We have another 15-20 per cent to improve on."