Euro 2016: Roy Hodgson warns his England goal flops they must be brutal in do-or-die clash against minnows Iceland
If the Three Lions fail to make it to the quarter-finals Hodgson could be out of a job by the time he returns home from France
ROY HODGSON knows the score.
Lose to Iceland and he will be lucky to make it home on the same flight as the England players.
Knockout football is brutal — sink or swim, do or die, hire or fire.
This has to be a fresh start for Hodgson, a clean slate, a chance to start the tournament over again from the second round.
The group stage was not good enough. But that will soon be forgotten with a win.
Either that, or he will be out on his ear.
England’s head coach admitted: “I think the day you stop concerning yourself, worrying about it, thinking about it, that’s the day you’ve lost interest in the work.
“I suppose the simple answer is, ‘No, I can’t divorce myself in that way’.
“This is the ultimate test because if we don’t win, it’s the end for us.
“All our focus is in getting through the game and then who knows? Maybe it will give us a bit of a boost.”
They need one, particularly after FA chief executive Martin Glenn and director of elite development Dan Ashworth dropped in on their final training session yesterday.
Glenn claims to have been encouraged by England’s performances in France, which can only mean the fella is easily pleased.
But their uninspiring displays in Group B will be forgotten and forgiven — temporarily at least — if Hodgson sets up a cracker in Paris at the Stade de France.
Super Sunday — against France in their own backyard in the quarter-finals — is what we really want.
It is the only acceptable outcome of a second-round clash against a country ranked 34th in the world.
This is not the time for England to come home, not just yet.
To remain they need to start scoring goals. There is not a team in this tournament who have had more chances than England. For some reason they cannot put them away.
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Hodgson added: “We need to be ruthless because we know there are no prizes for playing what some people might think is good football.
“I don’t think we can be accused of not having imposed ourselves on the game.
“I don’t even think we can be accused of not creating any goal chances because I think we have. But we haven’t taken them.
“It’s all about winning or losing and staying in or going out and we have been very brutal with ourselves in that respect. We have a very brutal focus.”
It is all well and good to say that, but Germany’s destruction of Slovakia last night magnifies England’s issues.
Hodgson’s players created 29 chances against Slovakia in their final group game and still failed to score.
The world champions had seven shots on target in Lille and scored three.
England front-loaded with forwards, fully stocked for the tournament with captain Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane, Daniel Sturridge, Jamie Vardy and Marcus Rashford.
Whatever combination Hodgson cares to pick at any stage of tonight’s game, they have enough to put Iceland away.
Hodgson knows that. He also knows the country cannot be fooled.
He added: “We have to accept the title as favourites. They go in as underdogs but we know they will be hard to beat. It’s win or lose now. We’ll be trying our best to win because we want to stay in the tournament for the team and the country.
“Every result is significant as a football coach but more so for the team and the country.
“We desperately want to stay in the tournament. We think we’re good enough to do so but to do that we need results. That must start now.”
It is 12 years since England last played Iceland, when Sven-Goran Eriksson walked into the dressing room before the game and asked the opposition to “go easy”.
That was a friendly at the Etihad, when Rooney scored twice in a 6-1 victory just days before they travelled to Portugal for Euro 2004.
This time it will be very different, with Lars Lagerback determined to protect a six-game unbeaten run against England that dates back to his spell in charge of Sweden.
Hodgson simply has to put that right.
He added: “All you can do as you get older and have more experience is to make certain that, when you look in the mirror, you can look at yourself and say, ‘What else could I have done?’.”
Lose tonight and he will get all the answers he needs.
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