England vs Iceland - Tactical Report

Dele Alli and Rooney kept surging forward at every opportunity and Eric Dier's insistence on dropping back alongside Chris Smalling and Gary Cahill in defence left a big hole in midfield.

Published : Jun 28, 2016 15:42 IST

Iceland dumped England out of Euro 2016 in the biggest shock of the tournament so far. Wayne Rooney converted a penalty early on just to see it cancelled out by Ragnar Sigurdsson almost immediately. Kolbein Sigthorsson made it 2-1 when his shot squirmed under Joe Hart and the smallest nation to ever play at the Euros held its own to enter the last eight.

England restored Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling to the lineup with Adam Lallana and Jamie Vardy making way, and started in a 4-3-3 formation with Daniel Sturridge playing on the right. Iceland kept faith with its 4-4-2 with captain Aron Gunnarsson and Swansea ace Gylfi Sigurdsson in midfield.

Raheem Sterling's pace was causing Iceland problems as he chased down balls over the top and he won a penalty which Rooney duly converted. Iceland however, made full use of its aerial prowess as a long throw into the box was not dealt with by the England defence and Ragnar Sigurdsson was on hand to finish from a flick-on header. Nantes striker Sigthorsson then finished off a lovely quick-passing team move when his shot from the edge of the box found the back of the net from under Joe Hart.

After that, Iceland did not let England play as it pressed and harried its more illustrious opponents without sitting very deep. Dele Alli and Rooney kept surging forward at every opportunity and Eric Dier's insistence on dropping back alongside Chris Smalling and Gary Cahill in defence left a big hole in midfield. Along with that, Daniel Sturridge looked frustrated playing on the right and kept coming infield or dropping deep to see more of the ball.

Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson had a fairly quiet night in goal as his defenders, especially the goalscorer Ragnar Sigurdsson, had a terrific game with the highlight being his perfectly timed last-ditch sliding tackle on Jamie Vardy (see picture) .

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