Sturridge Insists Hodgson-Helmed England "Will Excite People"

England haven't had the most spectacular time in Europe recently, both on the pitch and off it. When it comes to football, the Three Lions did enough to finish second in their group behind scrappy upstarts Wales, but haven't yet found their way to an attractive, entertaining brand of football. That's all set to change when England face cult favourites Iceland on Monday, at least according to Daniel Sturridge.

"We will excite people," said the striker, who seemed to momentarily forgot Roy Hodgson was his manager. "If you defend well in 90 minutes, fair play to you. And against Slovakia, they defended very well so we have to give them credit.

"Playing in a game like that, you have to be on song – and we weren’t on song. As much as we say we had the possession, we weren’t as good as we can be. We’re going to be better; we will be creative, we will score goals, we will excite people, we will have the fans with a smile on their face. Slovakia was a lesson."

You never want to hit your stride too early in a tournament, of course, and England definitely haven't yet hit their stride. But upcoming opponents Iceland have surprised many so far and England won't want to underestimate the Euro debutante nation.

"They have done amazingly to get here," Sturridge continued. "That’s why we can’t disrespect them. But we understand going into this game, if we play as well as we possibly can, we’ll win the game."