Iceland posts stupefying upset
Traditional power ousted by team not used to big stage
SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE• As if the Brexit wasn’t bad enough, England is finished at the European Championship.
Manager Roy Hodgson, who last week seemed confident he’d receive a contract extension, announced his resignation in the surreal aftermath of an unimaginable 2-1 loss to tiny Iceland, a Nordic island with roughly the same population as Leicester.
Hodgson didn’t take questions after reading a written statement. There wasn’t much to say. He’d just overseen the most humiliating defeat in the history of the Football Association.
“I’m extremely disappointed, of course, about tonight’s result and ultimately our exit from the competition,” Hodgson said. ” We haven’t progressed as far as I thought we were capable of, and that’s obviously not acceptable.
He thanked “all the support staff, players, the FA and of course the fans. It’s been a fantastic journey these four years and it’s one I’ll look back on or remember with pride.
“I am sorry it’s had to end this way with another exit from the tournament, but these things happen and all I can do is wish everybody all the very best and hope that you will still be able to see an England team in a final of a major tournament fairly soon.”
They’ll see something far more stomach- turning for the foreseeable future. They’ll see replays of Russia’s Vasili Berezutski heading a stoppage-time equalizer past Joe Hart in England’s tournamentopening game. They’ll see Welsh star Gareth Bale somehow beating Hart from 30 metres. They’ ll be forced to re- watch all the chances squandered in a goalless draw with Slovakia. Worst of all, they’ll see Kolbeinn Sigporsson’s game- winner replayed over and over while asking whether Hart made a big save all tournament.
England’s lowlights, though, were the end products of a trend far more troubling with World Cup qualifying looming. Following four years of Hodgson, The Three Lions still lacked any kind of identity. Fans have no clue how they want to get forward.
Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane — two of the Premier League’s top scorers — were rarely heard from save a bizarre sequence that saw the former bag a freak equalizer in a laborious win over Wales.
Things couldn’t have been more muddled from a tactical perspective, either. A midfield consisting of Eric Dier — a defender- turnedmidfielder — and Wayne Rooney was completely ineffective. More concerning, though, is that there might not be anyone else to plug into those holes.
THESE THINGS HAPPEN. I HOPE YOU WILL STILL BE ABLE TO SEE AN ENGLAND TEAM IN A FINAL OF A MAJOR TOURNAMENT SOON. — ROY HODGSON