IT’S ONE OF the biggest upsets in European football.
No surprise then that people on Twitter are falling over themselves (much as the English players did last night) to sum up the significance of Iceland’s victory over John Bull:
In case you happened to have been asleep for the last 12 hours or so – the English were dealt a humiliating 2-1 defeat by the minnows of European football last night, sending Roy Hodgson’s side crashed out of the tournament.
Ragnar Sigurdsson cancelled out Wayne Rooney’s fourth-minute opener before Kolbeinn Sigthorsson’s shot squirmed past England goalkeeper Joe Hart for an 18th-minute winner.
The Icelanders then hung on to clinch the win – as a (tiny) nation held its breath:
To put the disparity in the size and stature of the two footballing nations into a little more context – Iceland has an adult population of just over a quarter of a million people (around three Croke Parks-worth). It’s been ruled by both Norway and Denmark in the last thousand years, and is still reeling from one of the biggest financial crashes in the history of the planet.
There are around 50 million people in England, it’s home to the wealthiest football league in the world and (not that we need a reminder) once presided over an empire, famously, “on which the sun never set”.
Last night’s result comes just days after the historic Brexit result, which will likely see the UK part company with the EU.
But for Icelanders, it’s a much needed confidence boost for their country. Just a few months ago, they saw their reputation dragged through the international headlines once again for all the wrong reasons: their prime minister imploded spectacularly on television (not literally, mind) as he was confronted over the Panama Papers, and he was later forced from office.
Their national team’s manager, by the way, is a part-time dentist.
Iceland were already the smallest nation ever to feature at a European Championships.
Now, obviously, they’re the smallest nation ever to reach the quarter finals.
Here’s a roundup of how they’ve been reacting (the first tweet is from the prime minister):
- Includes AFP reporting.
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