Brian McDermott has conceded England’s hopes of reaching the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals may already be over, the head coach blaming the tournament’s “harsh” format and their opening loss to Tonga.

The World Cup has been reduced to 10 nations, down from 16 four years ago. That is largely due to financial reasons after the hosts Australia stepped in following France’s withdrawal. That has led to a unique format, with different levels of jeopardy for different nations based on their respective group.

England are in the three-nation Group B but only the top two from a combined six-team table featuring Groups B and C will progress to the semi-finals. Defeat to Tonga last weekend has made it difficult for England to qualify, with expected victories against France on Saturday and Papua New Guinea next week unlikely to be enough.

To progress, Tonga must beat Samoa next weekend and then hope England can win their two group games by a bigger margin than the Samoans. McDermott conceded that the odds are stacked against his side, and was critical of the format.

“The jeopardy of losing one game in a pool of three is so harsh, it’s almost like we don’t get another chance to straighten things out,” he said. “It’s just harsh that we have to take a standing eight count in that first round, but we’re ready to go again. Nothing has gone wrong, it’s just a harsh competition in which you’ve got to hit the ground running, which we didn’t do.

“I’m trying to be diplomatic here. If France held the World Cup, there would have been more teams in it and it would have been more like the usual format. I completely understand that if it has to be reduced to a 10-team competition. It’s not the easiest thing to do and we end up with situations like this. If you lose one game, you don’t really get a chance to fix it. It’s tough because we’ve lost one game and we now need to rely on other results if we are to go through.”

In contrast, New Zealand are in the four-team Group A where two teams progress, and despite losing to Australia last week, wins over Fiji and Cook Islands will secure qualification. “New Zealand have lost their first game as well, but they’re going to get another go at it,” said McDermott. “The likelihood is that they’ll quality, their destiny is not lying in other people’s hands.”

England have inflict a second heavy defeat on Les Bleus after France’s 78-4 loss to Samoa last week.

England’s 30-12 defeat to Tonga has drawn criticism but McDermott had promised his side would try to play a more enterprising brand of rugby. Also England had been in Australia for a matter of days, after a brutal 48-hour journey to reach their camp in Perth.

That is perhaps why McDermott has resisted the temptation for wholesale changes, with the Warrington winger, Matty Ashton, replacing Zach Eckersley in the sole change to the starting lineup.

England may be going home in a fortnight barring a minor miracle, but McDermott is upbeat about the national team’s long-term prospects. “I’m really pumped about what we’ve done over a short period of time; it’s been remarkable, really,” he said.

“We’ve come together and looked pretty good. We’ve laid some foundations now and we’re pretty excited about where this could go. For us to go through now, it’s a slim chance. I don’t think there’s a great need for change, just give me another three or four games with this mob. Let’s build some layers of preparation with each other.”

However, for that to happen, there is likely to be a post-tournament inquest into the national team’s place on English rugby league’s priority list.

With no mid-season camps, let alone games and the schedule for a home three-Test series against New Zealand next autumn not even confirmed yet, McDermott and his players may need more support from above if England are to prove they are victims of the format and not drifting from the top tier of the international game.

England Brimson; Young, Savala, Farnworth, Ashton; Williams, Smith; King, O’Neill, Thompson, Nsemba, Pearce-Paul, Radley. Interchange Litten, Currie, Havard, Walters, Welsby, Eckersley.

France Mourgue; Aispuro-Bichet, Siegwalt, Tropis, Laguerre; Lacans, Fages; Navarrete, Bourouh, Bousquet, Romano, Jussaume, Garcia. Interchange Rouge, Belmas, Cozza, Grossemy, Dezaria, Yaha.