Euro 2016: England 1-2 Iceland – Three Lions exit not with a roar, but with a squeak
England were outsung, outthought and outplayed by a country the size of Leicester as Iceland stunned the Three Lions to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2016.
Wayne Rooney got England off to the perfect start with a third minute penalty before Ragnar Sigurdsson levelled up for Iceland.
Kolbeinn Sigthorsson then took a shock lead for Iceland after yet another Joe Hart error, as the Three Lions went out with a squeak rather than a roar.
Iceland will now play host nation France on Sunday evening while Roy Hodgson will surely have taken charge of his final England game.
England have struggled against so-called ‘minnows’ this tournament after failing to turn early pressure into an early goal, but when Raheem Sterling was taken out by goalkeeper Hannes Halldorson, Rooney was given the opportunity to put that right.
And the England captain, equalling David Beckham’s record of 115 caps for an outfield player, duly dispatched the penalty into the bottom corner to give the Three Lions the perfect start.
That should have seen the floodgates open, but less than two minutes later Iceland were level, with a goal straight out of Tony Pulis’ Stoke City playbook.
Cardiff midfielder Aron Gunnarsson launched a long, Rory Delap-esque throw which was flicked on into the path of Ragnar Sigurdsson, who slid the ball past Hart from three yards.
England’s player of the tournament so far Kyle Walker was culpable after leaving Ragnar Sigurdsson to make his run unchecked.
England continued to pressurise the Iceland goal with Dele Alli and Harry Kane trying long-range efforts but Hart’s blunder put all the pressure on Hodgson’s men.
Gylfi Sigurdsson linked well with Sigthorsson on the edge of the box, before the latter sent a grass-cutter of a shot a foot inside from the far post, but the Manchester City stopper palmed the ball into his net.
It is his second big blunder of the Euros so far after cushioning Gareth Bale’s speculative 35-yard free kick into the corner of the net against Wales in the group stages.
Hodgson introduced Jack Wilshere and Jamie Vardy after the break in an attempt to make something happen but they still couldn’t create anything clear-cut, with Iceland snuffing out a number of half-chances.
Marcus Rashford was thrown on with three minutes remaining but was given too little time with this defeat surely going down as England’s most humiliating defeat since the 1950 World Cup defeat to a team of part-timers from the USA.