England U21 coach Stuart Pearce refused to hit back at criticism from Glenn Hoddle after defeat in their Euros opener against Italy.

The Tottenham legend took aim at the performance after the 1-0 defeat.

"He is within his rights, to be honest," said Pearce. "We conceded the ball much too readily to the opposition. When criticism comes, I am the first one to point out how badly we played. Glenn is entitled to his opinion and rightly so on what I saw."