Euro 2016: Hodgson admits he is facing striker headache

Hodgson took five finishers to France, augmented by wide forwards Adam Lallana and Raheem Sterling, but has yet to find the best combination up front.

England created a tournament high of 65 chances in Group B, but converted only three of those and had to settle for second place behind their more clinical Welsh neighbours.

Lallana started all three matches but has yet to register his first international goal, while Kane and Sterling began in the side before making way for Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge in Monday’s match with Slovakia.

The latter pair were effective off the bench against Wales, both scoring in a stirring second half comeback, but less so in the stalemate in Saint-Etienne.

To further muddy the waters, record scorer Wayne Rooney has been converted into a midfielder and 18-year-old Marcus Rashford remains something of a wild card.

“That could also be a headache we have to deal with because all of them have shown a lot of qualities in the games but none of them, as yet, have really shown they are able to score the goals we need,” admitted Hodgson.

“We will have the headache of trying to decide which strike force we’re going to use.

“I thought Lallana, Sterling and Kane did very well against Russia, but in the second game [versus Wales], when we weren’t scoring goals, I gave Vardy and Sturridge a chance and they scored goals and won the game for us.

“[They] kept their place in the team...who knows what happens next time?

“The pecking order will come next time we play. Whoever starts, whoever comes on as substitute and scores the goal.”

Hodgson’s approach can be read two ways.

Either the 68-year-old is being admirably flexible, allowing himself to be guided by events rather than holding rigidly to a pre-determined plan,.

Alternatively he is freewheeling rapidly towards an unspecified destination.

The final verdict will only be delivered once England’s tournament is over, but Hodgson is clear that he retains faith in the firepower at his disposal, however he chooses to perm it.

“I think all of these guys are scorers,” he said.

“The fact is at the moment because we haven’t scored many, sometimes there’s very difficult questions to defend.”

Hodgson was visibly irked at repeated references to his six changes against Slovakia.

While recalls for Vardy and Sturridge had seemed natural, and rotating his full-backs scarcely affected the team’s quality or shape, there was undoubtedly an element of risk in England’s midfield.

Dele Alli and captain Rooney were stood down for Jack Wilshere and Jordan Henderson, the latter performing considerably better than the former.

Hodgson stood bullishly behind his selection and suggested Henderson and Clyne had done most to push their case for retention.

“I never have regrets if the team has played well,” he said.

“Maybe I’d have some regrets if we hadn’t played well or hadn’t controlled it.

“I might have had regrets if Nathaniel Clyne and Jordan Henderson hadn’t been candidates for man of the match.

“I certainly would have had a few regrets if I’d given Kyle Walker or Danny Rose, who’ve worked unbelievably hard and have an important role to play for us, another game on the bounce and they’d got injured: that would have been something to regret.

“I look at the way the team played and I don’t honestly believe any players I could have put out there would have done a lot different to the ones that actually played from the start or came on in the game.

“Where we are at fault, clearly, is we aren’t taking the goal chances we are creating.”

Hodgson predicts England’s opponents in the knockout stages of Euro 2016 will take the game to his side, presenting a new and welcome challenge.

In all three Group B matches, against Russia, Wales and Slovakia, England shouldered the bulk of the attacking burden, but found themselves frequently unable to turn possession into goals.

Portugal, Iceland, Hungary or Austria await in the last 16, with England learning their fate by today, while a possible meeting with hosts France looms for the quarter-finalists.

“The way we are playing at the moment, the way we’re dominating games, we aren’t really frightened of anybody,” said Hodgson.

“To be honest it might even suit us if we play a stronger team that actually comes to beat us rather than trying to stop us scoring.

“That might even work in our favour because we might find some space we can actually exploit behind the defence.

“That’s something we haven’t really been able to do in the three games.

“We’ve had to play in front of the defence because they’ve played with so many men in defensive positions.”