England manager Roy Hodgson has called for a complete re-evaluation of the English game in order to challenge the best teams for international honours.
The former Inter Milan, Switzerland and Liverpool manager cited world and European champions Spain as an example England are already trying to aspire to, and referencing the way Germany, semi-finalists in their last two major international tournaments, have honed their game to a strict philosophy and nurtured a production line of young talent to compete at the highest level.
Hodgson insisted it is time England stopped relying on the outdated notion that the national side will prosper because of a sprinkling of talent at the top level and focus on introducing methods to compete with the best countries.