England crashed out of the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament with a humiliating 2-1 defeat to Iceland in the first knockout round at Allianz Riviera in Nice on Monday.
The result prompted manager Roy Hodgson to resign in his post-match press conference and Gary Neville to leave his role with the FA.
It looked as if it would be plain sailing when Raheem Sterling won a penalty after three minutes which Wayne Rooney duly converted on the night he equalled David Beckham’s record of 115 caps – the most of any England outfield player.
But Iceland levelled within two minutes from a long throw that exposed the Three Lions’ defensive frailties once again.
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Things got worse before 20 minutes had elapsed when Kolbeinn Sigthorsson found the back of the net with a low effort that Joe Hart got a hand to and should have saved.
In truth, England rarely looked like scoring against a well-organised Iceland outfit that thoroughly deserved their place in the last eight.
Rooney and Sterling were restored to the starting line-up but Hodgson’s side struggled to create clear-cut chances.
Jack Wilshere and Jamie Vardy came off the bench, while Manchester United teenager Marcus Rashford was only given a few minutes right at the end.
England suffered even further humiliation after the match, however.
Former Three Lions manager Steve McClaren, who famously failed to help England qualify for Euro 2008 following a crushing 3-2 loss to Croatia, praised Hodgson’s team and after Monday’s loss, hid under a giant umbrella.
Then, the ex-ManU coach compounded his embarrassment by watching his former team as a studio pundit on SkySports and proving, after the match, that his knowledge of the players on Iceland’s roster was rather poor.
First, when asked how England had reacted to Iceland’s instant equalizer after Rooney’s penalty, he simply boomed: “perfectly”
McLaren the went on to get the name of Iceland’s Kolbeinn Sigthorsson completely wrong – confusing him with teammate Gylfi Sigurdsson – before being stunned silent by the winner from the man whose name he didn’t know.
PHOTO: NICE, FRANCE – JUNE 27: Dele Alli of England and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson of Iceland compete for the ball during the UEFA EURO 2016 round of 16 match between England and Iceland at Allianz Riviera Stadium on June 27, 2016 in Nice, France. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
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