Harry Kane positive England will come good

The pitchside ad for the Czech tourist board read 'Land of Stories' but for England's footballers their opening UEFA European Under-21 Championship match at the Městský fotbalový stadion must have felt like the same old story.

England have not won a game at a U21 EURO tournament since reaching the final in 2009 – their record in two campaigns since reads W0 D2 L4 – and the way they fell to a scrappy goal against Group B rivals Portugal after losing key players John Stones and Saido Berahino to injury was certainly deflating.

It felt like anything that could have gone wrong did for England yet Harry Kane said there was no danger of heads dropping when the Tottenham striker spoke to UEFA.com from the team's base in the shadows of the Ander Stadium in Olomouc, where Italy's conquerors Sweden await on Sunday.

UEFA.com: Your thoughts on the Portugal game having had time to reflect on it?

Harry Kane: Obviously disappointed that we didn't win because we all want to win as a team and as players but no one is panicking. It was a tight game and they got the rub of the green, got the goal. We still know what we have to do.

We said going into the tournament that we'd probably have to win two games to get out of the group and that's still the case. Our minds are focused on Sweden on Sunday now. It will be a tough game. They've shown they're a great side but we're looking forward to it. We remain upbeat and will stick to our game plan and try to win on Sunday.

There was a lot of positive talk before the tournament about England. Has anything changed?

Nothing has changed. All teams win and lose. Obviously we lost last night but it's how you cope with that. There are two winnable games coming up and we have more than enough ability to win those games. We're staying positive and we know what we have to do.

What do England have to do to improve?

There are things we could have done better last night and there are things that we did do well. We looked back at the game and went through a few things as a team.

We're all honest lads here and know what we can do better and what we can achieve. It's just about doing things right, keeping our minds focused, staying level-headed and getting the result we need.

You represented England in the U19s in Estonia in 2012. Your rise has been phenomenal since then with 21 Premier League goals last season.

For sure. That was another great experience for me, a great tournament. We got knocked out in the semi-finals [by Greece] which was disappointing but these are the things that make and shape you as a player and they've all been great experiences. It feels like ages ago!

But I'm happy with how things are going and it will be great if we can get through in this tournament and go on to win it.