Hodgson outlines France weapons

England manager Roy Hodgson has pinpointed France’s attacking threat as an area for concern ahead of his side’s Euro 2012 opener.

Hodgson’s side kick off their European Championship campaign against Les Bleus before facing Sweden and Ukraine.

France boss Laurent Blanc has an array of attacking talent at his disposal, including the likes of Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri.

Hodgson says his side will need to be at their absolute best to nullify the French.

“We have to be aware of the array of talent they have going forward,” Hodgson said.

“They’ve got some very, very talented players who are very good in the final third. In and around the penalty area they’ve got players who are very clever at beating a man and getting their shots away.

“They ask a lot of questions about defenders when they get the ball in the final third. It’s going to be very important for us to defend against them properly against them.”

Although wary of France’s attacking threat, Hodgson believes England could profit from their attacking nature.

“We need to make sure they break quickly and maybe use some of the spaces that they are going to leave behind when their two full-backs are as offensive as they were in the recent matches,” he said.

“With [Mathieu] Debuchy and [Patrice] Evra they play very, very high up the field so we have to make sure we try and exploit those spaces.”