The day of reckoning has arrived for England when they take on Iceland for the right to place France in the quarter final of Euro2016. The two nations will meet in Nice on Monday night knowing that the reward for the winner is a clash with the home nation in Paris on Sunday evening.
England were runners up in Group B much to the disappointment of their fans who had pretty much awarded them the group when the draw was made. A late winner in their final group match ensured Iceland finished second in Group F and they are in bonus time now.
There has been a lot of doom and gloom around England since they failed to beat Slovakia in their last group match. I would imagine most of that is because they have dropped into the bottom half of the draw as opposed to the top one ergo making their path to glory much more difficult but as ever that is on paper and football isn’t played on that.
Looking at things on the pitch England have actually played really well in tournament albeit without putting the ball in the back of the net. If they can sort out their issues in front of goal then this side is well set up to go very deep in this tournament. The acid test will be whether they can break down a stubborn defence.
Key Man
Raheem Sterling hasn’t had the best of tournaments it is fair to say but Marko Arnautovic had the Iceland right back on toast in their last match and Sterling should be aiming to do likewise. If he can do that then he will set England on their way to victory.
Qualifying for this tournament was the aim for Iceland. Everything since has been a real bonus and the more they get out of it now would just be dream world status. On this site we’ve not made the mistake of writing them off due to the size of their country and anyone who has (we’re looking at you Ronaldo!) have found out that it isn’t the best idea.
Iceland have set up defensively in this tournament but if we focused purely on that we wouldn’t be doing their attacking justice. They have after all scored in all three of their matches which is something England haven’t done so they shouldn’t be written off completely.
Key Man
Gylfi Sigurdsson will know what he is coming up against here as he plays in the same league as most of the men who will oppose this Iceland side. He often shines in the Premier League so he should be having joy in this match. If he gets on the ball he could cause this England defence plenty of angst.
Team News
Roy Hodgson is expected to bring Raheem Sterling back into the fold. The four men he rested in the previous match are expected to be recalled too which means Wayne Rooney, Dele Alli, Kyle Walker and Danny Rose all will return to the side.
Iceland have Alfred Finnbagason back for this match after he was suspended for the final group game against Austria. Former Chelsea and Bolton attacker Eidur Gudjohnsen is set to start from the bench as well.
Head to Head
These two have only met twice in the past with the two teams drawing 1-1 in 1982 and then England won 6-1 in a meaningless tournament in 2004. This is by far the biggest meeting between the two nations.
Betting
There have been plenty of silly quotes doing the rounds ahead of this match. Things like ‘if England can’t beat Iceland they don’t deserve to be in the Euros’, ‘Iceland have the same population as Leicester’ etc etc. It is all a load of nonsense.
I think England hold a lot of major cards going into this match. They have had an extra two days of rest which in energy zapping conditions could be a real key thing and the fact they rested half of their side in their last match will only further make them last the distance better.
Another positive on England’s side is they have just played against a side who defend deep and set up to frustrate which is what Iceland are expected to do. Against that Iceland have shown that they can be tough to beat and England will need to find a way to beat them.
I don’t think England will make the same mistake twice. I think they will have worked on getting down the sides and getting good delivery into the box and in the end I think they will break this stubborn wall down. It almost goes without saying with England in knockout football that it won’t be an easy ride but I think England will get the job done and come through this one in a tight battle.
Tips
Back England to win by 1 goal for a 3/10 stake at 3.25 with Skybet
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