The effects of England leaving the European Union might be talked about for a year or two...the effects of England leaving the European Championships will be talked about for the next fifty years..
Next best thing if you can't stick your head in the sand..
It was of course inevitable not just because we are England and it's a big tournament but because anyone who watched Iceland play through the competition could see that they were a well a organised team, very hard to break down, with a cutting edge on the break. England by contrast showed little composure and little self belief.
I was cringing that afternoon as our pundits were already talking about England v France, which was a great contest on paper, but no doubt would have been even worse, as France would have fully exposed us.
I have to say I got the game wrong, I thought it would be a comfortable draw for Iceland after 90 minutes - that would have been a great result for them. In the end they went one better - fantastic really. They will all be heroes in Iceland.
Some Icelandic football facts:
1. Iceland don't have a professional football league as such.
2. Their manager, Heimir Hallgrímsson, is a practicing dentist.
3. Population of Iceland around 330,000.
4. Goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson, is a film director who directed the video for Iceland's entry in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.
It's a beautiful story.
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