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England had enough talent to win Euro 2016 - Greg Dyke

Roy Hodgson's England Euro 2016 squad had enough talent to win the whole tournament, Greg Dyke has said.

The outgoing chairman of the Football Association said he felt the young England team had the potential to outplay finalists France and Portugal, despite their exit in the round-of-16 stage.

His words come a day after Sam Allardyce gave his first news conference as Roy Hodgson's successor in the England job.

New manager Allardyce suggested that the team Hodgson had going into the tournament was good enough to raise the trophy, adding that the squad's ability "seemed to dry up" as they progressed.

Speaking outside the home of Bobby Moore, where a blue National Heritage plaque was being unveiled in memory of England's 1966 World Cup winner, Dyke told the Press Association: "We need to keep winning -- and we were winning in all the group stages, we just didn't do very well in the finals."

Asked if he agreed with Allardyce's comments that Hodgson had a strong enough team to lead the country to glory, Dyke said: "Yes, I don't think Portugal were that good and I don't think France were that good -- I think we could have won in 2016, but we didn't, did we?"

He added: "We've got a talented group of players at the moment and it's about making sure they perform."

Dyke, who chose not to stand for re-election after three years as one of English football's most senior figures, said the challenges facing Allardyce going forward would be to help ensure young English players break into the Premier League.

He said: "The big challenge is that fewer and fewer English players are coming forward into the Premier League and that can't go on, we've got to change that."

Former QPR manager Harry Redknapp, who was also in attendance at the plaque unveiling in Barking, east London, praised Allardyce's appointment.

The 69-year-old, who has been repeatedly linked with the England job in the past, said: "Old Sam, he's very confident, you couldn't knock him down with a sledgehammer.

"He's a tough cookie, he will do it his way, nothing will bother him and I think he will be great -- I wish him every success.

"I think he will get down to basics with them and I think he'll tell it as it is and hopefully get the best out of them, get them playing and take that pressure off them when it comes to a tournament we can't seem to handle at the moment."

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