England losing to Iceland would be the biggest embarrassment EVER
Roy Hodgson's Three Lions simply must win - and they have to do it convincingly
IT IS TIME for a big performance.
No fuss, no nonsense, no excuses and definitely no penalties.
I don’t just mean in tonight’s game but in the next one, too.
Iceland first, and while there was disappointment at not topping our group, this is a draw England would have wanted.
It is a game we simply must win and do it convincingly.
We need to in order to build some confidence because that has been sadly lacking.
Any momentum we seemed to get from Daniel Sturridge’s last-minute winner against Wales evaporated with the 0-0 draw against Slovakia.
Roy Hodgson must take the blame for that by making so many changes to the starting line-up.
He got roundly criticised for that but what he didn’t need when he was out here was Greg Dyke’s comments.
To suggest any future for Hodgson with England depended on this tournament was wrong and very badly timed.
There is enough pressure on the manager and players without those comments. I am sure they will have seen them and Hodgson will not have been happy.
As I said, the pressure is already there and it does seem to get to players when they pull on the England shirt.
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It carries a heavier weight for some, who can look a shadow of the players who earned the right to play for their country through their club performances.
The problem is that weight gets heavier with each disappointing performance.
You need to handle it and not let it affect your game — although it shouldn’t because this is what we all dreamed about as kids, isn’t it?
Playing for your country should really lift you and it is something to be enjoyed.
The problem is the players know that defeat tonight would be the biggest embarrassment in the history of our national team. It is unthinkable.
But to win we need to break down Iceland because they will sit deep and try and catch us. That was pretty much their tactics in all three group games.
We have seen decent spells of play so far but we have not clicked for a full 90 minutes.
It is right to start with Harry Kane and Daniel Sturridge up front for this one.
Iceland will sit so deep there will simply be no room for Jamie Vardy to make those runs of his.
Sturridge is someone who can conjour something out of a tight space while Kane deserves another chance.
He’s barely had a touch in the box so far but he needs a performance — they all do.
Not just in this match but the quarter-final, too.
That match against France will be huge.
They have been a team in good form and as hosts will provide a tough test.
It is a long time since we beat a major country at a tournament — you probably have to go back to Argentina in the 2002 World Cup for that.
The disappointment of the last World Cup in South Africa still needs to be wiped from our memories.
Plenty of England fans have travelled to a major tournament again — and it is time they had something to cheer.
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WHAT an incredible journey for Chris Coleman’s men.
No team has really stood out in this competition. But Wales won’t care about that.
They are still in there fighting and they do not have the toughest route to the final.
After a season where Leicester have won the league who knows what could happen?
