Date: June 27, 2016
Result: England 1 Iceland 2
Scorers:
England Rooney pen 5
Iceland R Sigurdsson 6, Sigthorsson 18
Venue: Stade de Nice, Nice
Match overview:
Iceland celebrated an historic victory after beating England 2-1 in Nice to set up a quarter-final with hosts France. Goals from Ragnar Sigurdsson and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson gave the Scandinavians a thoroughly deserved victory and subjected England to a humiliating exit from the tournament.
The Scandinavians may have gone into the game as underdogs but they were by far the superior team on the night: better prepared, technically more accomplished and more determined to see out a victory.
England lacked energy and wilted under the pressure of chasing the equaliser. They had looked to be on course for a comfortable victory after taking an early lead through Wayne Rooney’s penalty after Raheem Sterling had been brought down by Iceland keeper Hannes Halldorsson.
But within a minute, Iceland were level. England failed to deal with Iceland’s most potent attacking weapon, the long throw from captain Aron Gunnarsson. Gylfi Sigurdsson headed on for Ragnar Sigurdsson, who had evaded his marker, to score from close range.
Barely 10 minutes later, Iceland were ahead. Gylfi Sigurdsson played in Kolbeinn Sigthorsson as the England defence stood off, afraid to make to tackle. His shot lacked real venom but Joe Hart could only palm it over the line.
Aside from a Harry Kane volley that was tipped over, England rarely threatened Iceland’s goal. Instead, Iceland could have gone further ahead. Ragnar Sigurdsson’s overhead kick was stopped by Hart, who also saved Gunnarsson’s shot.
Key moment:
The second Iceland goal. Gyfli Sigurdsson played in Kolbeinn Sigthorsson, who had the time and space to shoot to the left of Hart, who could not stop the ball from trickling over the line.
Man of the match:
Centre-back Ragnar Sigurdsson scored Iceland’s opening goal and almost got a second with an overhead kick. He then produced a game-saving tackle on Jamie Vardy as England struggled to stay in the tournament.
Matter of fact:
Wayne Rooney equalled David Beckham’s record of 115 outfield caps for England.
Talking point:
England manager Roy Hodgson made a bold half-time substitution by replacing defensive midfielder Eric Dier with the more creative Jack Wilshere. But England still struggled to find a way through an energetic and well-prepared Iceland side. Captain Wayne Rooney was particularly poor in his new midfield role, and was himself replaced as England hit a new low.
Stats:
Goal attempts
England: 19
Iceland: 8
Attempts on target
England: 6
Iceland: 5
Corners
England: 7
Iceland: 2
Line-ups:
England
01 Joe Hart
02 Kyle Walker
03 Danny Rose
05 Gary Cahill
06 Chris Smalling
07 Raheem Sterling (11 Jamie Vardy 59)
09 Harry Kane
10 Wayne Rooney (22 Marcus Rashford 86)
15 Daniel Sturridge
17 Eric Dier (18 Wilshere 46)
20 Dele Alli
Starting formation: 4-3-3
Hart – Walker, Smalling, Cahill, Rose – Alli, Dier, Rooney – Sturridge, Kane, Sterling
Iceland
01 Hannes Halldorsson
02 Birkir Saevarsson
06 Ragnar Sigurdsson
07 Johann Gudmundsson
08 Birkir Bjarnason
09 Kolbeinn Sigthorsson (18 Elmar Bjanarson 77)
10 Gylfi Sigurdsson
14 Kari Arnason
15 Jon Dadi Bodvarsson (21 Arnor Ingvi Traustason 88)
17 Aron Gunnarsson
23 Ari Skulason
Starting formation: 4-4-2
Halldorsson – Saevarsson, Arnason, R Sigurdsson, Skulason – Gudmundsson, G Sigurdsson, Gunnarsson, Bjarnason – Sigthorsson, Bodvarsson
Yellow cards:
England: Sturridge 47
Iceland: G Sigurdsson 31, Gunnarsson 65
Referee: Damir Skomina (Sln)
