England took the first flight out of the Amazon back to Rio with the mood on the plane best described as disappointed but not downbeat.
There were plenty of causes for concern after their 2-1 loss to Italy in Manaus but reasons not to be fearful too, ahead of now crunch World Cup clashes with Uruguay and Costa Rica.
Roy Hodgson had promised a new-look England and fans, reared on some pretty insipid performances at recent World Cups, were given an exciting glimpse of the future.
Raheem Sterling rewarded his manager's confidence with a stand-out show, the sense of expectation rising every time he charged at the Azzurri's thin but resilient blue line with the ball at his feet.
And Daniel Sturridge - who equalised just minutes after Claudio Marchisio's opener - gave a confident performance as England's main striker, scoring his third goal in four international appearances.
England went for it, as Hodgson had promised, and lost, as most had really expected, and there should be no shame in that.
Unusually there was no air of despondency amongst England's travelling support, just a sense of realisation that they'd been defeated by a simply better team.
However, before the tournament there were always concerns about defensive frailties and a lack of experience in Hodgson's chosen back four.
Only Glen Johnson has tasted football at this rarefied level and Leighton Baines, preferred to the vastly experienced Ashley Cole, watching back at home, had a tough initiation, caught napping down the left as Mario Balotelli scored Italy's second half winner.
You build teams from the back but Hodgson simply doesn't have the foundations yet to be confident against the world's very best - and that will ultimately prove decisive in the matches ahead.
But against Uruguay, who should welcome back Luis Suarez for Thursday's match in Sao Paulo, after their shock 3-1 defeat to Costa Rica, there is evidence for some quiet optimism.
Their morale is rock bottom, England's rightly isn't.
"We can take a lot of positives from that, I thought it was a cruel defeat," insisted central defender Gary Cahill.
"They have some very good players but we started the game really brightly. We didn't do too much we did wrong and that's what happens when two good teams go at it.
"I thought they found it difficult in the second half. We had a feeling out there that if we'd scored we could have gone on."
England created plenty of chances - 18 attempts on goal in total - but failure to apply the finishing touch was their ultimate downfall as much as their troubles in defence.
Rooney's goals qualified England for Brazil but he has not scored in 683 minutes worth of matches at the finals - incredible when you consider he's just ten goals short of Sir Bobby Charlton's record 49 goals in England colours.
He appeared as uncomfortable on the left as he does in front of the media, as Hodgson preferred Sterling to sit just behind Liverpool team-mate Sturridge, mainly in a bid to counter the threat of Italian talisman Andrea Pirlo.
Rooney provided the cross for Sturridge's leveller but drifted in and out of the game and struggled to make a connection with Baines, with the Azzurri targeting England's seemingly weak left flank - something Uruguay manager Oscar Tabárez will have watched with interest.
"We always believed we could win but we'll move on," insisted Rooney, who should have done better with a 62nd minute chance, the sort of goal he tucks away with regularity at Old Trafford.
"We are looking forward to the game on Thursday and hopefully we can get three points."
