Roy Hodgson’s exuberant young side made a flying start against Italy in Manaus, but failed to make an early breakthrough and were unable to claw their way back into the contest once Mario Balotelli had headed the Azzurri into a second-half lead.
Defeat for either England or la Celeste in Sao Paulo on Thursday could mean elimination from the tournament after just two games.
And Adams, who won 66 caps for his country from 1987-2000, captaining the side at Euro 96, says more resilience is required if they are to progress to the latter stages.
“We’ve got a difficult game there," he told FourFourTwo. “Everybody’s asked me if we would get through and I said yeah we would get through if we don’t lose to Italy, and we went and lost! I would have been really delighted with a boring 0-0 draw.
"At times England play with our hearts and not with our heads, and we just try to kind of run and run and try and win the World Cup in the first 20 minutes.
“We’ve got to be a bit more patient, more calm and more resilient against Uruguay. If we don’t score, if its 0-0 for a long time, then the pressure mounts.
“I still think we’ve got enough talent to win and to go through, but I’m seeing maybe quarter-finals so we are going to extend the pain maybe for a few more rounds!”
Adams was 'Talking Tactics' at Centrale, Croydon and Brent Cross shopping centres.
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