Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp believes that the root of England‘s problems at Euro 2016 was down to the lack of a defensive partnership like John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.
The national team were humiliated on Monday night as Iceland – a country with a population of just over 300,000 – knocked them out of Euro 2016 with a 2-1 win in the last-16.
Roy Hodgson immediately tended his resignation following the game, though his contract with the Three Lions expired after the European Championships regardless.
Many pundits and ex-players have had their say on the matter and Redknapp believes their flaws lie in defence where England are lacking leaders like Terry and Ferdinand.
“The defending was awful and there didn’t seem to be any leadership on the field,” Redknapp wrote in the Telegraph.
“I’ve said it many times that Rio Ferdinand and John Terry are so badly missed at international level. Gary Cahill and Chris Smalling may be impressive enough in the Premier League but they are well short for England.”
Wayne Rooney gave the Three Lions the lead early against Iceland from the penalty spot but within a minute, they were level thanks to Ragnar Sigurdsson taking full advantage of slack defending to get on the end of a flick-on following Aron Gunnarsson’s long throw.
England were behind just before the 20-minute mark thanks to Kolbeinn Sigthorsson’s shot somehow squirming underneath Joe Hart’s reach.
That left the them needing at least an equaliser to force extra-time, but despite dominating possession in the second half, they failed to truly test the Iceland defence as Sigurdsson made 10 clearances and five interceptions to keep Hodgson’s side at bay.
Even with Marcus Rashford, Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge in attack, England still could not find a breakthrough as their record of failing to win a knockout game at an major international tournament stretched to 10 years.
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