England have not won a major trophy in the last 50 years, but Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy insists that they have a strong chance of clinching the 2016 UEFA European Championship which takes place in France later this year.
"I think you see with the players that are involved there, they're all class and they're a close-knit group as well and to be honest with you we can go far and we know that if we put in 100 percent that we've got a chance of winning it," Vardy told Betfair on Thursday.
Vardy, who is the highest scorer in the English Premier League (EPL) this season with 19 goals, has a strong chance of being included in the England squad for the continental championship given the superb form he is currently in.
The 29-year-old has spearheaded Leicester's dream run this season, with the team currently enjoying a two-point lead at the top of the league table. With a top-four finish and a Champions League spot all but guaranteed, Vardy is looking forward to facing off against the best players in the world next season.
When asked which players he would most like to face, he said, "You'd obviously have to say the likes of Messi and Ronaldo."
"They're obviously the world's best and they have been for years, but we still know there's a long way to go until that might happen and we know that we've got to take each game as they come," he added.
Vardy picks Pepe as the player he would fear as an opponent
The centre-forward picked out Real Madrid's Portuguese defender Pepe as the player he would fear as an opponent.
Vardy credited Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri for the team's dream run, asserting that the Italian is the best he has worked with.
"I think he examines every single aspect of every opposition we're playing. He comes into our team meetings where he's been up all night watching 50-60 clips of just one of the opposition's players and he will tell you exactly what he's done in 49 of them and what he did in the other 11," the England striker said.
"It's mental how much detail he goes into but it's a help to us and hopefully gives us an advantage."
The 2016 UEFA European Championship will be held in France from June 10 to July 10.
