The tournament could return to Europe in 11 years' time with FIFA deciding recently to abandon their policy of rotating the staging rights among the continents, and England are planning to bid for the tournament.

But Platini said although he would back the best European bid, there were no guarantees this would come from England, with Russia interested and a joint Holland-Belgium bid expected to stage the sport's biggest event.

"As European president, we need to do our best for the best country to receive the cup in 2018," he told BBC News 24 programme Hard Talk.

"I hope for you it will be England but at the moment I have nothing to say.

"You will have to convince me.

"If there are two or three European countries going to bid, they all have to convince me.

"I am the president of UEFA, I can't say I will vote for England, I will vote for Russia, or I will vote for the Netherlands.

"I will vote for one European country, of course, and I will bring all my strength to bring all the European countries to vote for one, and to maybe help. I will do my job.

"But why England, why not Russia or the Netherlands? We will look."

UEFA president Michel Platini believes England's football has lost its identity because of the influx of foreign owners and players into the Premier League.

Former France striker Platini, who enjoyed his greatest successes as a foreign import at Italian side Juventus, has called upon the Government to tackle the problem, insisting it is not something his organisation can intervene in.

He said in an interview with BBC News 24: "Where are the players of England, where are the clubs of England? If we have six American (owned) clubs, two Russian clubs where is your identity?

"I don't like that, but it is not my problem. It is your problem, it is the problem of the parliament of England. It is not the problem of UEFA."