Roy Hodgson says selecting an attacking England squad for Euro 2016 has paid off
Saturday 18 June 2016 23:37, UK
Roy Hodgson believes his attack-minded squad will offer England a boost as Euro 2016 progresses.
Hodgson surprised many by naming so many forwards and attacking midfielders in his 23-man squad for France, having earned himself a reputation as a cautious manager.
The 68-year-old selected just three specialist centre-backs in order to maximise the available attacking strength in depth, a move that paid off as England came from behind to defeat Wales 2-1 in Group B on Thursday.
Jamie Vardy, Daniel Sturridge and Marcus Rashford came off the bench in Lens, with Vardy and Sturridge scoring as England went top of the group ahead of Monday's final match against Slovakia.
"When I selected the 23, people looked at the 23 and there will always be people with opinions," said Hodgson.
"One of the things that was said was there were only seven out and out defenders but extra midfielders and attackers.
"But we deliberately went that way because we think in tournaments, that's what you need. They evolve quickly and they are knockout games.
"It is nice that people have praised us for our boldness but if we had drawn or lost, it wouldn't have made any difference to what we would have had to have done against Slovakia.
"We would have had to win anyway, so why not go 100 per cent for the victory in this one? Especially when I honestly believe that the play [against Wales] deserved a victory.
"I wouldn't have thought there will be too many supporters out there who didn't think we deserved to win the game, unless they are really die-hard Welsh supporters."
