Steve McNamara spoke of his pride and delight after England booked their place in the final of the Four Nations.
Kearney also full of praise for England after holders are stunned
England coach Steve McNamara paid tribute to his players who conjured up a stunning 28-6 victory over New Zealand at Hull to book their spot in the final of the Four Nations.
England will face Australia in Leeds next weekend, thanks to a superb four-try display at the KC Stadium.
The home side, roared on by a near-capacity crowd of 23,447, dominated the Kiwis up front and ran them ragged at the back - most notably through the outstanding trio of Sam Tomkins, Tom Briscoe and Ryan Hall.
McNamara said: "Before the game, control was what we spoke about. The emphasis has been on that, about being aggressive and smart but bringing control to the game.
Passionate
"Without doubt, the players deserve a tremendous amount of credit. We've got a bunch of staff and players who are really looking like a team.
"The crowd also played a huge part tonight. Hull is an unbelievably passionate city and we are tremendously proud of our performance tonight."
Prop James Graham, one of four England tryscorers at the KC Stadium, refused to get carried away with the result and insists there is still plenty to work on ahead of the final.
"I was pleased to get over for a try," Graham told
Sky Sports. "Playing for England is always special.
"It doesn't matter that I might not be playing here again for a long time. Steve (McNamara) and the rest of the staff will tell us what we need to improve on and we will go from there."
England captain Jamie Peacock also challenged his side to raise their game in the final.
Deserved
"You're going to have periods when you're under pressure and we need to iron those out when we play Australia," he said.
"We're really confident in what we're doing. We're getting more confident as the tournament progresses and we want to take another step up against Australia."
New Zealand coach Stephen Kearney added: "I thought England were outstanding.
"It was a real complete performance from them and they fully deserved the victory.
"I think England can go into the final with some real confidence. It's going to be a big ask but if they stick to what they did tonight I'm sure they'll give Australia a real run for their money."
