They created a great atmosphere. Fully deserve to go through, playing with pride and passion.
England vs Iceland
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They created a great atmosphere. Fully deserve to go through, playing with pride and passion.
England team and England as a country headless chickens.
What is funny is that it doesn't come much as a shock. Papers may shout at top of their voices about shock result. But most fans who watched England play and Roy's crazy decisions to somehow shoe horn players would have seen this coming.
I don't know why England underestimated them, did you see them in the group play? They were fantastic. Iceland might not have the superstar players, but they are a fantastic team
more than lost
The speed he got out of these euros, he'd be perfect for the Brexit lot
What's worrying is the amount of people who underestimate Iceland and have done all throughout the tournament, which now leaves me with a attitude of 'I told you so'. In truth they didn't need to be that good.
Wales Iceland final..............ill have some of that 
Well it was bound to happen, it's a nation of 300k people with about 20k male at the right age (20-35) to choose from for national team. When you see this put like that and realize that more than 1 in 1,000 young Icelanders is currently playing for their national team and doing well at Euro it strikes home how amazing this story actually is.
They're probably the most impressive team I've ever seen all things considered. They may well get beaten by France but it will not take anything away from their achievement which is just spectacular and I am not talking only about results. If you look at how they play, their discipline and commitment are unbelievable. Everyone know what they are doing, every move is the right one, they're creating space and moving the ball like no other team at this tournament. They know their technical shortcomings but are so disciplined and tactically drilled that it doesn't hurt them at all. You see their players sprinting after the player to get back into position after 88 minutes. It's unbelievable.
Oh no I agree, England certainly didn't have much cohesion or organisation in the team. They weren't better than the sum of their parts in the way Italy were. The interesting thing Conte said there, for me, is the bit you didn't highlight. He openly acknowledges the squad lacks quality. That's something English fan still aren't doing even after an undeniably poor tournament. The manager failed in his job but what he had to select from was a far bigger handicap than people seem to acknowledge.
He doesn't help himself by not selecting in-form players like Drinkwater but opting for ever injured Wilshere. Of course Danny Drinkwater is not going to win you World Cup but a lot of these small decisions he was incapable of making played a huge part.
Fair play - I'm probably just being a nobbish pedant!Match summary:
Too many people, fans, pundits and even the players were looking to the France game thinking "we can beat them". This attitude has cost England a place in the 1/4 finals. England got ahead of themselves and were punished. Iceland were given very little chance or respect in the build up to the game and look what they've done. They consentrated solely on the 1 game ahead of them and they've made an England dreaming about the French look very ordinary and stupid.
i would be questioning the future for most of the players after that, no heart, no hunger, no desire, was like watching united last season, they had no idea how to break iceland down, cant really think of to many times there keeper made a save, longer the game went it looked more likely for iceland to score. there was a time with 5 mins to go that the ball went out for a throw in and walker walked 10 yards to get the ball, that summed up everything that is wrong with this england team, on the verge of the most embarrassing result in there history and he walks to get the ball.
I agree. Most pundits are lazy bastards and that German team was very young. Okay 6-7 were part of the team that hammered England 4-0 in the U21 Championship, but that would still have required any of them actually watch that U21 stuff. And Thomas Mueller was basically a one season Bundesliga player. It´s still a bit depressing that they can´t even recognize some talent.
This happens every two years with England, not in the least bit surprised.
Rashford was brilliant. Played 5 minutes, had 3 successful dribbles - more than any other England player.
Hodgson screwed up the line-up. I don´t know what he was thinking. Lallana and Clyne murdered Slovakia over the right wing. Both have a great workrate and are teamplayers. I even think Clyne is a great leader on the pitch, cause he´s relentless. Nobody yesterday was relentless. Although I find Milner technically limited he actually makes things happen with his workrate and underrated setpieces. Rashford over the left side was a must and from all the striking options Sturridge (for all his herky-jerky crap) looked by far the most threatening.
Rashford Sturridge Milner
Lallana
Alli Dier
Rose Cahill Smalling Clyne
Hart
Better balance and I think a lot more heart, workrate and leadership.
The inclusion of Wilshere and Rooney spoke volumes going into this tournament. It's why I want Allardyce as he may actually chose players on form and who fit the system rather than just a big name with "talent'
Some pundits said this was more shocking than Germany´s 7-1 against Brazil. LOL.
Absolutely flabbergasted by the performance last night, and some of Hodgson's decisions in general. Including Wilshere despite only playing 1 game all season and then shoe horning him in to the side is diabolical. He's clearly not match fit and we're going in to a month long, potentially 7 game tournament.
The selection of Sterling over Lallana is the most baffling. Don't get me wrong I'm not Lallana's biggest fan, but based on what we saw in the Group stage and knowing that we would require a bit of creativity rather than brute pace to unlock the Iceland defence, that was a sackable decision on its own. It wouldn't have been so bad if Sterling wasn't in such awful form. Speaking of which, Harry Kane. Brilliant season for Spurs and great player, huge future for England. But at 7pm last night when the teamsheet had to be handed in, he shouldn't have been on it. Vardy looked fresher and sharper in the Wales game when he came on, and that's what Hodgson should have been judging on, not the Slovakia game where he changed half the side.
Finally we go in to the second half 2-1 down but as the game gets past the hour mark, that's when you introduce players like Sterling and Rashford. To only bring Rashford on at 85 minutes was again beyond belief. I actually sat in the pub checking with the people around me that we still had a sub and I hadn't missed one.
To sum it up (I'm 34 by the way for reference!) last night was the worst performance by an England team and manager I have ever seen. It was the most embarrassing exit to a major tournament (yes I can remember us not qualifying for a couple but this somehow feels worse). I was absolutely fuming at 9.45 last night and I still am now.
As for the future, I think they should look long and hard at Eddie Howe. We went in to this tournament with the oldest manager and crashed & burned. It's time for a fresh approach. Someone who will know his best team and system and not try to fit people in just because he's fond of them.
The selection of Sterling over Lallana is the most baffling. Don't get me wrong I'm not Lallana's biggest fan, but based on what we saw in the Group stage and knowing that we would require a bit of creativity rather than brute pace to unlock the Iceland defence, that was a sackable decision on its own. It wouldn't have been so bad if Sterling wasn't in such awful form. Speaking of which, Harry Kane. Brilliant season for Spurs and great player, huge future for England. But at 7pm last night when the teamsheet had to be handed in, he shouldn't have been on it. Vardy looked fresher and sharper in the Wales game when he came on, and that's what Hodgson should have been judging on, not the Slovakia game where he changed half the side.
Finally we go in to the second half 2-1 down but as the game gets past the hour mark, that's when you introduce players like Sterling and Rashford. To only bring Rashford on at 85 minutes was again beyond belief. I actually sat in the pub checking with the people around me that we still had a sub and I hadn't missed one.
To sum it up (I'm 34 by the way for reference!) last night was the worst performance by an England team and manager I have ever seen. It was the most embarrassing exit to a major tournament (yes I can remember us not qualifying for a couple but this somehow feels worse). I was absolutely fuming at 9.45 last night and I still am now.
As for the future, I think they should look long and hard at Eddie Howe. We went in to this tournament with the oldest manager and crashed & burned. It's time for a fresh approach. Someone who will know his best team and system and not try to fit people in just because he's fond of them.
We already knew population size doesn't count for much in football. Brazil is also 70 times the size of Uruguay, but no one is really that surprised when Uruguay does better. We also already knew that English football has been lagging behind since the Hungarians came up with the idea of passing the ball accurately to someone in the same kit in the fifties. We already knew there's a football culture in England that wants football to be simple enough for the most simple minded fans to have full understanding of the tactics. We also knew that it's the foreign managers and foreign players who dominate the PL and it's difficult to have English players playing with their head.
But allthough a sense of superiority is justified when foreigners come to play or manage here, they still are surprised about how difficult it is to beat this outdated football and how difficult it is to beat individual players. You can point out a lot of weaknesses in English football, but there's a surprising strenght in it too. But with the England team, where has that strength gone?
The good things English football still has, as few as it is, is nowhere to be found when there's a WC or EC. Not this year, but also not since the nineties, and before that England has been underperforming slightly since 66 anyway. There's something fundamentally wrong between the country and its football, and the national team. Where for Iceland every player is playing better than he usually does for his club, for Engeland every player is playing even worse than for his club, and not just this once, but every WC or EC. That's probably the most urgent issue and the most difficult one to adress. I personally think it's stupid to relie on the spirit, but at least it should be there. Now you were not just outwitted by Iceland, but also 'outbritished'.
But allthough a sense of superiority is justified when foreigners come to play or manage here, they still are surprised about how difficult it is to beat this outdated football and how difficult it is to beat individual players. You can point out a lot of weaknesses in English football, but there's a surprising strenght in it too. But with the England team, where has that strength gone?
The good things English football still has, as few as it is, is nowhere to be found when there's a WC or EC. Not this year, but also not since the nineties, and before that England has been underperforming slightly since 66 anyway. There's something fundamentally wrong between the country and its football, and the national team. Where for Iceland every player is playing better than he usually does for his club, for Engeland every player is playing even worse than for his club, and not just this once, but every WC or EC. That's probably the most urgent issue and the most difficult one to adress. I personally think it's stupid to relie on the spirit, but at least it should be there. Now you were not just outwitted by Iceland, but also 'outbritished'.
Absolute drool. Wrong line up, no passion. No idea why Wilshere was even brought on. Why was Rashford brought on in the 86th min. He was warming up from the 70th.
I may be bias as a united fan but I genuinely believe Rashford should of started more games than he did. Obviously was not working for Sterling or Kane this tournament, yet Roy obsessed over using them. That also includes Ali.
I may be bias as a united fan but I genuinely believe Rashford should of started more games than he did. Obviously was not working for Sterling or Kane this tournament, yet Roy obsessed over using them. That also includes Ali.
I went to bed early - how the **** did even England mess this one up
English team weak as always: no plan, no talent. but that was based on a magical Island: they got their plan, they knew exactly what to do, playing defensivly great but also with good attacks, finding space and doing combinations the english could dream of. Island also were better in heading and stuff which got to do with physicalness, one thing the english thought that would be "naturaly" theirs. And then the secret weapon of Island: the throw-ins. they really were thinking about, and worked that little element out to a important and dangerous thing.
Another time to think about why english football lacks everything, but my prediction is it wont change cause there are some many things you would have to improve. Didi Hamann is somehow right.
Another time to think about why english football lacks everything, but my prediction is it wont change cause there are some many things you would have to improve. Didi Hamann is somehow right.
What did he say?
How about those subs eh boys, we stuggle to break teams down through the middle, so.... lets lose all width, replacing any wingers we have with more strikers, the more strikers you have on the field means more chance of scoring as we all know.
Yep, my manager is English and he was supremely confident yesterday, I told him not to write Iceland off as they eased through a difficult qualifier group (16/1 with the bookies to beat Holland away!), he looked at me as if I was stupid, he's not come out of his office this morning.
Laughing my head off at England & the over-reaction. They lost a game of football to a better set-up, better drilled & fitter team. We had a clueless manager who knew how many games he had to arrive at a functioning team, but still fluffed it.
Good on Iceland. A lesson won't be learned by the FA. Blame lies squarely with them for me, and the manager. The team looked spent, particularly Kane. Rashford brought some energy, but for 5 minutes? Really Roy?!!
I can relate to that. Normally have St George's Cross draped outside the house when there's an England game, but yesterday I found myself rooting for Iceland.
Likewise,
I'm happy Iceland went through.
Rooting for them + Wales now.
England do have the most overrated team though.
It's just a team of individuals with no tactics.
I stayed up to 1:30am to watch that shite.
No words really.
No words really.
People criticise Iceland's style - or lack thereof - but I think that yes they are aggressive, competitive and highly drilled but they also play some decent football at times and cause teams problems. Italy are the same, just with better footballers.
Iceland play to their strengths, I'm sure if they had come to the Euros, performed well and got a couple of draws and went out after the group stages they might have went home thinking, well at least we gave it a shot and gave a good account of ourselves, but now I'm pretty certain France will be thinking they would have probably preferred to face England in the QFs.
Iceland play to their strengths, I'm sure if they had come to the Euros, performed well and got a couple of draws and went out after the group stages they might have went home thinking, well at least we gave it a shot and gave a good account of ourselves, but now I'm pretty certain France will be thinking they would have probably preferred to face England in the QFs.
I think your squad was more than good enough to get to the semis but ultimately you were let down by the usual things
- An incompetent manager
- A lack of passion shown in comparison to the other side
- Severe media pressure
Same old, same old.
- An incompetent manager
- A lack of passion shown in comparison to the other side
- Severe media pressure
Same old, same old.
Thought I'd better sleep on it before trying to make an unemotional post on here about what went wrong and why
Slept on it.
Still can't
Slept on it.
Still can't
To be fair the vast majority of reactions I have seen to Iceland's performance and results were nothing less than admiration and praise given the resources at their disposal. Only lunatics (and Ronaldo) would criticize them.
I really don't agree with this. They were a team ultimately without a plan and for that you have to look to your leaders. Clearly no leadership from the manager and, watching that second half, none on the pitch either. They went to pieces and didn't know what they were supposed to be doing and whilst that can look like players don't care it's more that they are just lost. You could tell that as that second half wore on they were already envisaging the headlines but what do you expect from a team that was sent out by a man who already had a resignation letter in mind (or so it seems)
It's not about quality that's for sure and you're right they should really be making the semis. That would be a natural level I think and to go beyond that they would have to play above themselves.