Hodgson endorses striking competition amid reports of Kane benching

Roy Hodgson has stressed the importance of competition among his England attacking ranks as rumours intensify regarding Daniel Sturridge taking Harry Kane's spot in the starting XI.

Kane and Raheem Sterling were withdrawn at half-time on Thursday when Wales was ahead by a 1-0 scoreline, and the introduced pairing of Jamie Vardy and Sturridge both scored to clinch a 2-1 victory.

Hodgson concedes the substituted duo may be suffering from "wear and tear" - Kane has made 118 professional appearances since August 2014 - and is happy to let others push for inclusion from the first kick-off. With five forwards to call upon in the squad, there are certainly plenty of options.

"I think all of our strikers need to be challenged," said Hodgson. "They need to accept that. I would like to believe none of them is so arrogant that he sits there and thinks his place is absolutely guaranteed in the team; that 'this lot can't threaten me.' I would be very upset if that was the case because I see them in training every day."

The 68-year-old gaffer is full of praise for the strikers who began the campaign as backups - including teenager Marcus Rashford - and also spoke in support of goalkeeper Joe Hart who appeared to be at fault for Gareth Bale's dipping and swerving free-kick hitting the back of the net.

"He's part of our team and I'm sure that he's as much of a part of our victory as much as anyone else. Maybe he is relieved that we didn't lose the game 1-0 when the focus would have been on him and if he could have saved it."

He continued: "But no one in the dressing room had anything negative to say to him. He was the one who said: 'Lads, I'm sorry, maybe I could have saved that one.' They said: 'Forget it, Joe, let's get out and win the game in the second half.' That's boring, but it's exactly how it was."

England completes its Group B commitments on Monday against Slovakia, and currently holds a one-point lead above second-placed Wales.