Hodgson: We’re not the finished article after Portugal win

Roy Hodgson admits his England side will travel to Euro 2016 with confidence but described his outfit as ‘not the finished article’.

Chris Smalling’s late header gave the win over 10-man Portugal in their final game before Euro 2016.

The visitors had Bruno Alves sent off in the first half for a high boot on Harry Kane and despite the man advantage Hodgson’s men appeared to struggle to break down the Portuguese.

Manchester United defender Smalling’s late header from Raheem Sterling’s cross gave England three wins from three in their pre-tournament friendlies before the tournament in France.

Hodgson’s side open their campaign against Russia in Marseille on Saturday June 11, while Portugal meet Iceland in Saint-Etienne three days later.

“Three very different games disappointed tonight that it didn’t stay 11 against 11. We’d have preferred that, it became an exercise in the end of playing against 10 men and trying to break down a well-organised, packed defence.

“I thought we got better at it the longer the game went on but I’m pleased with the composure and I’m pleased with the fact that we played out consistently from the start which was better than maybe happened in the previous two games. I’m very pleased with the fact the players showed more patience, there was more composure in our play, pressurising wasn’t quite as frantic as it’s sometimes been,” Hodgson said.

“We’re not the finished article. I don’t know how many teams actually are the finished article and that’s also quite a good thing because had we won the three games by four goals to nil then all people would be saying is ‘You’ve got to win it now’ and with a young team I think that would have put too much pressure on them.

“I think the fact that a player got sent off affected the game as well. Playing with 10 men is a lot harder than playing with 11. Playing without a player of Ronaldo’s quality obviously affected Portugal’s chances of winning the game. We were advantaged in both of those instances but we can only play against the team that’s there in front of us. We can only do the job that can be done against the team in front of us.

“We can’t have any affect on the referee’s decision if he sees a challenge in the game that he deems is a red card and he sends an opponent off. There’s nothing we can do about it,” the England boss added.