England built on attack ­- Hodgson

ENGLAND manager Roy Hodgson claims England have evolved during his reign and are now a side built to attack.

When Hodgson picked up the baton from Fabio Capello shortly before Euro 2012, he had experienced heads like John Terry and Ashley Cole in defence with captain Steven Gerrard anchoring the midfield.

But in the four years that have passed, both the age profile and the mentality of the squad has shifted.

The group that will travel to France for Euro 2016, after taking on Portugal at Wembley tonight, is both younger and more overtly focused on offence than its immediate predecessors.

Marcus Rashford, the 18-year-old Manchester United rookie, personifies the new approach, as does Hodgson's decision to include him as one of five specialist strikers.

That contrasts with a bare seven defenders, while the safety-first midfield option of Danny Drinkwater was cut at the last minute.

"Looking back, the team (in 2012) was very different," said Hodgson.

"A group of very experienced players, at club and international level, and a team with experienced defenders and holding midfielders.

"We were a bit short of attackers in that tournament. The last four years have seen a complete turnaround in that respect.

"Now we have a surfeit of attacking players, in midfield and up front, which is why I've chosen a squad that's tipped and balanced towards attacking.

"We believe that we have so many players at the moment in midfield and in attack, who are really good players, good quality players.

"I didn't want to sacrifice them to sort of shore up with players who maybe might in some ways cover position slightly better but maybe don't have the qualities of the players I'd be leaving out."

Hodgson did not allow himself to be left open to charges of recklessness, though, stressing that he expected his entire XI to contribute to breaking, as well as making, play.

He added: "It's a question of athleticism, mobility. You need mobility, legs, players who can run and like to run, players who are sometimes prepared to run extra miles and recover positions when they've gone forward and need to get back."