Speaking ahead of England's international friendly with Italy on Wednesday, Hodgson said not only can the players can take inspiration from how Great Britain's athletes conducted themselves at the London Games, but supporters could learn something too.

"We need to understand that when we play, as an England football team, we're under the same spotlight (as Olympians), we're under the same requirement to perform and live up to the high expectations so we can learn from that," he said.

"And the other thing I think we can learn is how well the athletes perform in interviews after the event, the humility they show when they win, the grace that they show in relation to opponents that they've beaten and the way that they quite frankly show and admit their disappointment if they didn't quite reach the level that they wanted to do."

Hodgson did point out the universal acclaim athletes received at the Olympic venue in Stratford was very different to the parochial environment of domestic football.

"All these things are very good, but of course you must understand that they are performing in front of quite a different audience to the audiences we perform for," he said.

"Performing at the Olympic Stadium in front 80,000 people supporting is a bit different to playing away from home at one of the big English stadiums with quite a few people trying to upset you as much as they possibly can."

Nevertheless, Hodgson feels English fans can learn from the example of good-natured support on show at the Games.

"Possibly, maybe this a wake-up call for us all (in football) that you don't need that hatred and abuse that football players have to suffer while they're playing," he said.

"Certainly we didn't see too much of that in the Olympic Games and maybe that makes for a safe athlete as well."

Hodgson has opted for a predominantly youthful squad as his side try and atone for their defeat to Italy at the quarter-final stage of Euro 2012.

"I think both ourselves and Italy are going to try and win the game, there's no question about that," he said.

"But both of us from what I am seeing in terms of the Italian line-up, are approaching the game in the same way.

"We are using players that were in the squad in the Euros who maybe didn't play and we're also trying to look at some younger players who are on the periphery and could be very useful for us in the next couple of years and in two years time if we qualify."

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard will return to the England squad after missing Euro 2012 due to a thigh injury, but the England captain said he was taking it one cap at a time - and had not thought about the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.

"I've not looked at it (the World Cup) - I just go game by game. I'm here so it's an ambition for me to stay in the squad and help the squad," Lampard said.

"If I can help in games now, if I can continue to help all the way to Brazil, I'll be very happy to do so. But the last thing I want to do is sit here and say I will be Brazil and I'm going to defy all the odds because football doesn't work like way.

"I'll try and help, I'll try and play at my top level for Chelsea. If that gets me in England squads, I'll be very happy to turn up."