Roy Hodgson wants to make history and guide England to their first tournament knockout-stage victory over a major footballing nation away from Wembley.

The England manager sees Sunday night's European Championship quarter-final against Italy as a chance to kill ‘a nasty statistic’.

One statistic dismissed by Hodgson was that  the UEFA prize-money for winning the  tournament could be £19million.

Pointing the way forward: Roy Hodgson with Gary Neville on Friday

In finishing top of their group with two victories, England have already banked £10.1m for the FA.

But Hodgson insisted: 'It's the last thing on the players’ minds. It would be nice to see a medal hanging round our necks instead.'

Sunday night in Kiev is about history for the England boss, who is expected to name the same team that started against Ukraine.

'It would put one of those nasty statistics to rest, he said. 'It would be a great step forward, no question of that.

'At West Brom I was lucky enough to put some hoodoos to bed. That’s the only way to do it.’

« Previous1234Next »