Iceland hero Ragnar Sigurdsson today accused England of complacency, claiming that Roy Hodgson’s men thought the match would be a “walk in the park”.
The defender triggered one of the biggest shocks in the history of the Euros, equalising just two minutes after Wayne Rooney gave England the lead last night.
Captain Rooney denied his side, beaten 2-1, took Iceland lightly but Sigurdsson believes England went into the game in Nice with one eye already on a quarter-final against France.
“They thought this would be a walk in the park,” said the man of the match. “They started very well and with great power but were shocked by the equaliser and the 2-1 goal. They panicked, though they’re a good team. As you know, it’s difficult to score against Iceland.”
England were expected to dominate possession and wear down Iceland’s deep defence but it was the tournament debutants who carried more of a threat.
“I didn’t think the English put us under so much pressure,” said joint-coach Heimir Hallgrimsson. “We were talking about putting on a central defender but we thought we didn’t need to because we put the pressure higher up the pitch.”
Iceland beat Holland home and away in qualifying and also held Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal to a draw in their Euro 2016 opener.
Defender Kari Arnason said: “This is without a shadow of a doubt the biggest win in Iceland’s football history. It is an absolute upset and we have shocked the world.”
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