England coach Roy Hodgson has defended English football against taunts from the French camp ahead of tonight's Euros opener.

France coach Laurent Blanc has teased Monday's opponents about contrasting philosophies and how his side would play all the football, and Hodgson bristled when asked by a foreign journalist if England still consider themselves a football power.

"We started professional football in the 1860s or 1870s and, during the centuries since, I don't think we could ever be accused of not being a serious - or even a top - football nation," said Hodgson.

"The fact that it's 1966 since we won a major tournament - we are very, very much aware of and you didn't actually need to remind me.

"How good we are as a nation will always be decided on the field of play. Once again we have qualified for a major tournament. We start off among the 16 teams with a chance to show how good a football nation we are."

Later, Hodgson added: "It was a facetious question but there was an element of truth - not spitefulness - in what he was saying. As a top nation we haven't probably won as many tournaments as we should have or sometimes done as well as we should have. We all feel that weight.

"There's nothing we can do to take that weight off our shoulders except make certain we embrace the tournament.

"Make certain we're not afraid of it, that we believe in ourselves. It's a fact of life. I think before the very good French period, we could have levelled a similar accusation against them."