England manager Roy Hodgson feels questions raised by French journalists could spring his team into life at Euro2012.

On the eve of today's Group D clash between the Three Lions and Les Bleus, it was raised whether England are actually a strong football nation seeing as they haven't won anything since the 1966 World Cup.

Hodgson is well aware of the statistic and admits his side knows as well but that will not stop them trying to be as successful as possible in Poland and Ukraine.

"Of course we feel the weight of history," he said.

"It was a facetious question but there was a little element of truth in what he was saying.

"As a top nation we haven't won as many tournaments as we should or done as well as we should.

"We all feel that weight and there's nothing we can do to take it off our shoulders except make certain we embrace the tournament, that we are not afraid of it and that we believe in ourselves.

"It's a fact of life. But I think before the very good French period we could have levelled a similar accusation against them."

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