England flops once again, losing 2-1 to Iceland
NICE, France – Iceland pulled off one of the biggest shocks in European Championship history by beating England 2-1 in the round of 16 on Monday, continuing the astonishing run of the smallest nation at the tournament.
England slumped to its most embarrassing loss in a generation after taking the lead in the fourth minute through Wayne Rooney’s penalty.
Ragnar Sigurdsson and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson took advantage of defensive shortcomings by England to put Iceland ahead by the 18th minute, and the Icelanders defended superbly in the second half to earn the biggest victory in their history and a quarterfinal match against France in Saint-Denis.
“They thought that this would be a walk in the park,” Sigurdsson said. “We had faith in our ability.”
Iceland, a country of 330,000 people, is featuring in its first ever major tournament.
It proved to the last match of the four-year reign of England Coach Roy Hodgson, whose contract was up after the tournament anyway.
“Now is the time for someone else to oversee the progress of this young, hungry and extremely talented group of players,” Hodgson said. “They have been fantastic.”
The England fans who booed the team off at halftime and fulltime will likely have a different opinion.
England’s players head home early again for another post-tournament inquest. Their players slumped to the ground in front of their jeering fans after the final whistle, their heads in their hands.
Iceland defenders Ragnar Sigurdsson (6) and Kari Arnason (14) celebrate their team’s 2-1 win over England in the Euro 2016 round of 16 match.
For a soccer nation of England’s standing, its record in major tournaments is woeful. The English have still never won a knockout-stage game abroad in the European Championship in eight attempts and haven’t won a match beyond the group stage of a major tournament since 2006.
This defeat will probably go down as England’s biggest humiliation since losing 1-0 to the United States in 1950 World Cup.
Italy dethrones Spain, 2-0, to advance to quarterfinals
SAINT-DENIS, France — Spain’s era of dominance at the European Championship came to an end Monday when Italy beat the two-time defending champion 2-0 in the round of 16.
Italy deserved its victory and was impressive from the start at Stade de France, stifling Spain’s attacking intent and creating several scoring opportunities with its slick interplay.
The victory meant Italy avoided a third consecutive elimination at the European Championship to Spain, and secure a quarterfinal clash against another old foe, Germany.
“It was definitely a great performance,” Italy Coach Antonio Conte said. “They did something fantastic tonight. They are great men and wonderful footballers.”
Giorgio Chiellini, a member of Italy’s resilient defense, put his team ahead in the 33rd minute, when he poked the ball across the line after Spain goalkeeper David de Gea couldn’t hold on to a free kick by Eder.
In the second half, Spain showed more menace and came close to equalizing on a couple of occasions. Sergio Ramos nearly scored with a header from close range in the team’s first clear chance of the game, and Buffon had to make a difficult save on a powerful shot by Andres Iniesta in the 76th minute.
Buffon also made another impressive save in the 90th minute when he managed to get down and save Gerard Pique’s close-range strike.
As Spain swept forward in search of the elusive equalizer, Italy counterattacked to put the match beyond doubt. Graziano Pelle sealed the victory — Italy’s first competitive triumph over Spain since the 1994 World Cup — with his second goal of the tournament after a cross by Matteo Darmian in second-half injury time.
“We have to accept the loss and move forward. It wasn’t meant to be,” Spain Coach Vicente Del Bosque said.
