ENGLAND v ICELAND FIRE AND ICELAND
Roy tells strikers to find the target or crash out
Hodgson said: “We should have won the group, there’s no question of that.
“We were clearly the best team but we didn’t win it because we didn’t take our goal chances and we didn’t get enough points.
“Seeing teams off comfortably hasn’t happened so far for anybody. But of course we’re expected to win. We were the favourites to win the group, we were expected to win all three games. We should have won all three and we only have ourselves to blame for not getting the results we should have had.
“And I agree they do look like stronger teams in our half of the draw now, but you don’t know how they’re going to play.
“Who would have thought Spain would finish second in their group? I have faith in this team. It’s a good team, a good bunch of players, they’re giving their all. And whoever we play will not be jumping for joy at the prospect of facing us.”
Having avoided Portugal thanks to Iceland’s last- kick winner against Austria, Hodgson knows England will again face a side who will try to frustrate them.
“It turned into a war of attrition against Slovakia and it might be the same against Iceland,” he said. “They would have to play for penalties and draw. And if you do that then you play for extra time.
“And if you play for the draw and extra time, you play for penalties because there is going to be a winner.”
While accepting England have not turned possession into goals, Hodgson fiercely rejects criticism that his stars have been a let-down.
Criticise
“I don’t think there is anything to defend about the way the team have worked, the amount of effort put in, the desire to win games, the quality of passing and movement, the control they have had.
“Criticise me and the team because we haven’t won by all means, that is fair enough. There is nothing we can do about that now and we’ll try to put it right by beating Iceland.
“The only question really is can we score? Can we take our chances? Up to now we haven’t.
“But in some ways I still prefer that the team is in control, and looks very much as if they’re going to win the game rather than sitting heart- in- mouth every time the opponent attacks.”
The Iceland star, who plays in the Championship with Cardiff, is not his country’s captain for nothing and epitomises everything they’re about. The hardrunning, hard-working midfielder covers plenty of ground putting out fires and he’ll be trying to shut down Rooney and deny him space. The England skipper will have to work hard to shake off the tenacious 27-year-old who also has an awesome throw which caught out Austria in their final group game.
The Tottenham striker duels with the best defenders in the Premier League – but he won’t face anyone with a bigger heart than Arnason. The veteran 33-year-old Malmo defender has been a solid rock for Iceland at these finals and his never-say-die attitude has already frustrated stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and David Alaba in upsetting Portugal and Austria. Kane has hardly had a sniff of goal yet in the tournament – and Arnason intends it to stay that way.
Dier has been one of the few stand-out successes for England so far at Euro 2016 but he’ll have his work cut out to stop Swansea king-pin Sigurdsson making his mark. The Icelandic midfielder ghosts into dangerous forward positions with clever runs from midfield and has the knack of scoring eye-catching goals. Spurs star Dier will have to stay alert and use his defensive instincts and physical presence to make sure Sigurdsson doesn’t do any damage.