Roy Hodgson defends England youngsters

Roy Hodgson has leaped to the defence of young players in England after they were criticised by Patrick Vieira.

The Three Lions manager dismissed claims from the Manchester City football development executive that British youngsters lack commitment to their country.

"I can only judge what I see and it never occurred to me that English players aren't keen to play for their country," The Sun quotes Hodgson as saying.

"Certainly, since getting the job, I've not seen it. Even players with a lot of caps are very keen to play. I can't agree with that opinion.

"At club level the Champions League is very important, but my experiences with the team and with top players show that people are still very keen to marry the two together."

Man City are in the process of building an academy to help produce more homegrown talent.