European Championship
EnglandEngland1IcelandIceland2

England 1-2 Iceland

By Phil McNultyChief football writer in Nice

England suffered their worst humiliation since they were knocked out of the 1950 World Cup by USA in Brazil as Iceland shocked them in the last 16 of Euro 2016.

Manager Roy Hodgson resigned after the abject embarrassment of losing to a nation ranked 34th in the world - and with a population of just 330,000 - despite taking the lead through Wayne Rooney's fourth-minute penalty.

Iceland equalised within a minute as England failed to deal with a trademark long throw and Ragnar Sigurdsson bundled home from close range.

England's shameful performance was summed up by Iceland's 18th-minute winner when goalkeeper Joe Hart was badly at fault - just as in the win over Wales - as he let Kolbeinn Sigthorsson's shot through his hand.

Hodgson made changes as Iceland dug in, but the underdogs had as many chances as England before the final whistle blew on their Euro 2016 hopes and his four-year tenure as manager.

Is it all Hodgson's fault?

The ultimate responsibility lies with the manager but, make no mistake, he was badly let down by players capable of so much better - not just on this black night for English sport but throughout Euro 2016.

Hart has had a nightmare tournament, young hopes such as Harry Kane and Dele Alli failed to live up to their performances last season, and captain Rooney, who had been England's best player up until this game, chose this night to give one of his worst performances in an international.

England were shown up by the work-rate, desire and sheer physical commitment of their counterparts. Yes, Hodgson will take the blame and has paid the price but these highly paid Premier League players should not escape criticism.

A reputation scarred

Football Association chairman Greg Dyke had flagged up a quarter-final place as a minimum requirement, but Hodgson's England could not even achieve that.

Hodgson's thinking had been muddled even before England arrived in France, with constant changes of personnel and approach exemplified by the sudden re-introduction - and subsequent substitution - of Raheem Sterling, although the Manchester City forward did win the penalty from which Rooney scored.

England managers' records
ManagerEngland careerPlayedWonWin %
Fabio Capello2008-12422866.7%
Alf Ramsey1963-741136961.1%
Glenn Hoddle1996-99281760.7%
Ron Greenwood1977-82553360%
Sven-Goran Eriksson2001-06674059.7%
Roy Hodgson2012-16563358.9%
Walter Winterbottom1946-621397856.1%

As the game went on, Hodgson cut a detached figure, seemingly powerless to influence the game - and he waited too long to introduce the fearless pace and direct running of Marcus Rashford, who posed more problems in four minutes than most of those who had gone before.

Hodgson has never given off any sort of assurance during Euro 2016, unsure of his best team and strategy.

England have won one game out of four, with a last-minute winner from Daniel Sturridge against Wales - and this defeat will be a scar forever on Hodgson's record and reputation.

England shots
England's shooting was wayward, with four on target (green) and 11 off target (red)

England fans vent fury

England's players slumped to the ground in despair and embarrassment when one final corner was wasted and Iceland had completed their landmark win.

It left them within range of the fury of England's travelling support, who had gathered in their thousands as usual in Nice in the expectation of seeing them reach the last 16 of Euro 2016.

And they wasted no time in letting England's players feel their full fury, frustration that had built up throughout the game exploding in anger directed at those who had failed to perform.

Goalkeeper Joe Hart held his hands up in apology to no avail as some supporters hurled England shirts and flags in the team's direction.

When England left Brazil after their failure there in 2014, they were actually applauded at the end of a 0-0 draw in a dead rubber against Costa Rica - there was no such escape here as the supporters came to terms with one of the most embarrassing, painful nights in the history of English sport.

What next?

While England will begin to pick apart a wretched tournament, Iceland will go on to the quarter-finals and undoubtedly the biggest game in their history when they face hosts France at the Stade de France on Saturday.

Wales' quarter-final against Belgium on Friday will be broadcast live on BBC One, with build-up starting at 19:30 BST.

The quarter-finals in full (all games start at 20:00 BST):

  • Poland v Portugal in Marseille, Thursday
  • Wales v Belgium in Lille, Friday
  • Germany v Italy in Bordeaux, Saturday
  • France v Iceland in Paris, Sunday

What they said

England goalkeeper Joe Hart: "As a group it is down to us. All the plans are put in place, we knew everything about Iceland - but ultimately we didn't perform. Personally I didn't perform.

"It's not a question of wanting it, there's nothing we want more - they are just words though. We were in a good place but we haven't done it.

"We will get a lot of flak and we deserve it. We will learn from this and try and bring English football back to where it belongs. We have put it in a low place.

"We just couldn't find a way back into the game. The next manager has a tough job on his hands. We worked hard but with no success. That is how this team will be remembered."

England captain Wayne Rooney: "It's a sad day for us.

"Sometimes not always the best team win. Once they got in the lead we knew it would be difficult to get the goal back because they are well organised.

"Going into the last 16 facing Iceland we were confident we could win the game. It's disappointing but we have to move on.

"It's tough. There are always upsets in football - it's not tactics, it's just unfortunate. We know we're a good team.

"I can't stand here and say exactly why it's happened. Roy Hodgson will look back and think what he could have done differently.

"I'm still available to play. It'll be interesting to see who comes in."

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Former France and Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, who is working as a BBC pundit, praised Iceland
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Howard Webb Twitter
Former referee Howard Webb has spotted some promising English performances in France

Line-ups

England

Formation 4-3-3

  • 1Hart
  • 2Walker
  • 5Cahill
  • 6Smalling
  • 3Rose
  • 20Alli
  • 17DierSubstituted forWilshereat 45'minutes
  • 10RooneySubstituted forRashfordat 86'minutes
  • 15SturridgeBooked at 47mins
  • 9Kane
  • 7SterlingSubstituted forVardyat 60'minutes

Substitutes

  • 4Milner
  • 8Lallana
  • 11Vardy
  • 12Clyne
  • 13Forster
  • 14Henderson
  • 16Stones
  • 18Wilshere
  • 19Barkley
  • 21Bertrand
  • 22Rashford
  • 23Heaton

Iceland

Formation 4-4-2

  • 1Halldórsson
  • 2Saevarsson
  • 14Arnason
  • 6R Sigurdsson
  • 23AF Skúlason
  • 7Berg Gudmundsson
  • 17GunnarssonBooked at 65mins
  • 10G SigurdssonBooked at 38mins
  • 8Bjarnason
  • 9SigthorssonSubstituted forBjarnasonat 77'minutes
  • 15BödvarssonSubstituted forTraustasonat 89'minutes

Substitutes

  • 3Hauksson
  • 4Hermannsson
  • 5Ingason
  • 11Finnbogason
  • 12Kristinsson
  • 13Jónsson
  • 16Sigurjonsson
  • 18Bjarnason
  • 19Magnusson
  • 20Hallfredsson
  • 21Traustason
  • 22Gudjohnsen
Referee:
Damir Skomina
Attendance:
33,901

Match Stats

Home TeamEnglandAway TeamIceland
Possession
Home68%
Away32%
Shots
Home18
Away8
Shots on Target
Home4
Away5
Corners
Home7
Away2
Fouls
Home6
Away15

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, England 1, Iceland 2.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, England 1, Iceland 2.

  3. Post update

    Attempt missed. Dele Alli (England) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Harry Kane with a cross following a corner.

  4. Post update

    Corner, England. Conceded by Kári Arnason.

  5. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Jamie Vardy (England) header from very close range is blocked. Assisted by Daniel Sturridge with a cross.

  6. Post update

    Hand ball by Teddy Bjarnason (Iceland).

  7. Post update

    Corner, England. Conceded by Birkir Saevarsson.

  8. Post update

    Foul by Gary Cahill (England).

  9. Post update

    Ari Freyr Skúlason (Iceland) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  10. Substitution

    Substitution, Iceland. Arnor Ingvi Traustason replaces Jón Dadi Bödvarsson.

  11. Post update

    Danny Rose (England) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  12. Post update

    Foul by Aron Gunnarsson (Iceland).

  13. Substitution

    Substitution, England. Marcus Rashford replaces Wayne Rooney.

  14. Post update

    Foul by Harry Kane (England).

  15. Post update

    Ragnar Sigurdsson (Iceland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  16. Post update

    Offside, England. Harry Kane tries a through ball, but Daniel Sturridge is caught offside.

  17. Post update

    Attempt missed. Kári Arnason (Iceland) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Johann Berg Gudmundsson with a cross following a corner.

  18. Post update

    Corner, Iceland. Conceded by Joe Hart.

  19. Post update

    Attempt saved. Aron Gunnarsson (Iceland) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Johann Berg Gudmundsson.

  20. Post update

    Gary Cahill (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

As It Stood

A

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Czech Rep107121914522
2Iceland106221761120
3Turkey10532149518
4Netherlands104151714313
5Kazakhstan10127718-115
6Latvia10055619-135

B

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Belgium107212451923
2Wales10631114721
3Bos-Herze105231712517
4Israel104151614213
5Cyprus104061617-112
6Andorra100010436-320

C

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Spain109012332027
2Slovakia10712178922
3Ukraine106131441019
4Belarus10325814-611
5Luxembourg10118627-214
6North Macedonia10118618-124

D

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Germany107122491522
2Poland1063133102321
3Republic of Ireland105321971218
4Scotland1043322121015
5Georgia103071016-69
6Gibraltar100010256-540

E

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1England1010003132830
2Switzerland107032481621
3Slovenia105141811716
4Estonia1031649-510
5Lithuania10316718-1110
6San Marino10019136-351

F

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Northern Ireland10631168821
2Romania10550112920
3Hungary10442119216
4Finland10334910-112
5Faroe Islands10208617-116
6Greece10136714-76

G

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Austria109102251728
2Football Union of Russia106222151620
3Sweden10532159618
4Montenegro103251013-311
5Liechtenstein10127226-245
6Moldova10028416-122

H

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Italy10730167924
2Croatia106312051520
3Norway106131310319
4Bulgaria10325912-311
5Azerbaijan10136718-116
6Malta10028316-132

I

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Portugal8701115621
2Albania8422105514
3Denmark833285312
4Serbia8215813-54
5Armenia8026514-92
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