Hodgson announced he was stepping down minutes after the final whistle of the loss to Iceland, which sent England crashing out of the 2016 European Championships.

"I am sorry it will have to end this way but these things happen," Hodgson said. "I hope you will still be able to see an England team in a final of a major tournament soon."

Hodgson tried to defend the performance of his players, who were outplayed for large stretches of a match against a team from a nation with only 330,000 inhabitants.

"When I arrived I was told the players would not turn up, but I have not seen that," Hodgson told reporters

The 68-year-old former Liverpool manager Hodgson was in charge for four years and led England to Euro 2012 and the last World Cup.