Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil asserts that England can join his own country Germany in the Euro 2016 finals in France, reports the London Evening Standard.

He said: "For me, England have improved a lot in the last few years. They have some interesting young players, good momentum from qualifying and certainly they have the ability to fight to get to the final.

"More than that is hard to say — it is difficult to speak about who will win because the tournament is very open. But, for me, they are one of the favourites for the title — and that's not just a diplomatic answer!"

"The level in attack for England with Kane, Vardy or Rooney has changed in recent games — and the style of game they play is different compared to previous times," he added.

"I would say the attack is very strong and especially Kane and Vardy have done well. But, of course, that was in friendlies and now we have to see how they perform in a tournament."