It was hardly a night for celebration. But the post-match entertainment had already been laid on, so after their troubled victory over Paraguay on Saturday the England squad went back to their Black Forest hideaway and sat down in front of a giant television screen to watch Rio Ferdinand's World Cup Wind-Ups, in which the party-loving central defender subjected a few of his team-mates to embarrassing practical jokes.
To some, no doubt, this was hilarious stuff. To others it confirmed the suspicion that this generation of English footballers does not know when to stop giggling and take life seriously, although their captain - himself the victim of a Ferdinand prank - at least gave an assurance that attempts to even the score have been put on hold.
I'm sure there's a number of us plotting revenge on Rio," David Beckham observed in the aftermath, "but we're going to wait until the tournament's over."
The culprit himself sat down with the media this week and provided further evidence for the theory that there are two Rio Ferdinands: on the one hand, the absent-minded fashion victim who is more like to miss a meeting with a drug test squad than an appointment with his hair-braiding consultant; on the other, the gifted professional footballer who talks frankly and with more eloquence than most about the techniques of his craft.
It was the latter who provided insights into the disappointing performance against Paraguay. "I think one of the obvious factors is that we didn't retain the ball," he said. "The defensive line was too far away from the front line and that gave the midfielders too much ground to make up when we did get the ball. So when the ball did go up to the forwards, there wasn't anyone getting close enough to them."
Serving a suspension when England played in the Euro 2004 finals, Ferdinand watched the matches on holiday in Florida. It gave him, he said, an insight into the fans' mentality.
"I was in Miami with Wes Brown and couple of my mates and I was in the bar singing Wayne Rooney songs and so I know exactly what it's like, the essence of being a fan. The banter, the lead-up to game, the fallout from the game - the emotions are quite raw and they're only round the corner from me because it was only a couple of years ago. During the game you can't really take in that feeling because you're obviously concentrating but I'm sure that after the tournament I'll be able sit back and see how it was reported. I'll be a fan and travel out to World Cups and European Championships when I've finished playing football."
Had he watched Saturday's match from a Miami bar-stool, however, would he have shared the general disappointment?
"In the performance, maybe. You'd have wanted your country to put on a better show and to send out a bigger and a stronger message to other countries, yes. But as a fan, results mean everything. When we were out in Baden-Baden yesterday none of the fans out there mentioned the performance to me. It was all, 'Good result, lads, well done.' If you asked every fan out there, they'd have us playing like that every game of this tournament if we won it. I'd be the same, if I'm being honest."