England 1-2 Iceland
(Rooney 4pen; Sigurdsson 6, Sigthórsson 18)
2016 round of 16, Nice
“They thought this would be a walk in the park,” reflected man of the match Ragnur Sigurdsson after the biggest shock in EURO finals history: England eliminated by the smallest nation (in population terms) ever to reach a major finals.
Iceland’s defend-deep-and-break-fast policy unsettled opponents in France. Although Roy Hodgson’s side took an early lead in Nice, the Icelanders played on their opponents’ nerves; Sigurdsson profited from a long throw to level, then Kolbeinn Sigthórsson landed another sucker punch as his shot squirmed past Joe Hart. England had 72 minutes to put things right, but nothing worked. The Icelandic fans’ famous slow handclap after the game heralded Hodgson’s resignation.
“I still get goosebumps from even thinking about it, just the feeling of it,” reflected captain Aron Gunnarsson when speaking to UEFA.com years later. “You want to always relive that feeling, and the atmosphere was incredible. We didn’t get enough credit for how we played that game, because that’s probably one of the best games we’ve played together as a national team.”
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Other EURO fixtures on 27 June
1984 final: France 2-0 Spain
2004 quarter-finals: Czech Republic 3-0 Denmark
2012 semi-finals: Portugal 0-0 Spain, Spain won 4-2 on pens
2016 round of 16: Italy 2-0 Spain
