Euro 2016 - 5 Things we Learned from Day 18

Same old problems, same old England

No doubt some of our supporters had already booked accommodation for the semi-final clash against France. I mean, we’re England, we couldn’t possibly lose to little old Iceland? There’s no way we’d underestimate them or arrogantly assume we had a divine right of passage to the semi-finals. Move aside, pretenders, for England are here to prove to the world we should be feared. Or not.

It becomes less painful as we exit another tournament. i used to dream of David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney leading the golden generation to glory. The losses in that era of English football hurt but this one didn’t. Roy Hodgson might be a great bloke but he seemed absolutely clueless throughout the Euros. He abandoned the formation he had experimented with in friendlies, then decided to throw on all his strikers against Wales before he rested key members of the squad in a crucial tie to decide whether England finished top of the group.

There is more to football than picking a young squad and telling them to play their natural game. I don’t think anyone could tell you what England’s game plan was under Roy. “We need teams to attack us so we can destroy them on the counterattack,” was the line after the draw against Slovakia. Iceland attacked us and scored twice - we had no reply. No one even knew who was taking corners or throw ins by the end as Roy lost the plot. The problems run much deeper than him, however, but they’ll be covered up by his resignation. Rinse, dry, repeat.

Iceland continue to prove Cristiano wrong

Hungary have rightfully earned a lot of plaudits for their style of football and performances above what was expected of them - but Iceland trump everyone at this tournament. No, they aren’t the best side remaining or even the most enjoyable on the eye but they’ve got an abundance of heart, desire and sheer brute force that mean you’ll need to be at your best to beat them.

It would’ve been easy to have cowered away after England’s early penalty. This Iceland side doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit though and valiantly fought back to stun England with a well-worked throw in routine and took the lead due to Joe Hart’s “play-doh hands”. Take nothing away from Iceland who deserve every single headline and every bit of praise that comes their way. It’ll get lost in the dissecting of England’s performance but it shouldn’t. They are through entirely on merit. I personally hope they get a rematch with Portugal in the final.

Revenge is sweet for Italy as they crush Spain

Yesterday we saw Germany blow away Slovakia but the overall display from Italy against Spain was easily the most significant of the Euros. We finally got to see the rematch of the Euro 2012 final but with the roles completely reversed. Four years ago we saw a Spanish side in full flow, dismantling an Italian side that looked a million miles away from causing Spain problems.

Fast forward to today and Italy extracted a small measure of revenge against their Mediterranean neighbours and outplayed them for the full 90 minutes. Truth be told, it didn’t even resemble a contest. Too many were quick to say Italy had peaked against Belgium but they couldn’t have been more wrong. It was a brutal display of total football as Spain couldn’t find an answer to Italy’s solid defence and quick counterattacks. David De Gea stopped Italy from showing their dominance via the scoreline.

Spain’s aura of invincibility has been smashed to pieces

The World Cup in Brazil was humiliating for Spain. A team that had won the previous three international tournaments in a row couldn’t get out of the group stage. This was supposed to signal the first evolution of the squad as key members of it weren’t getting any younger. The crushing defeat to the Netherlands broke that invincible aura and they’ve yet to get it back.

Qualifying wasn’t an issue but then why should it be? No one of note was in their group but the performances weren’t convincing. Some were, but not all. Spain looked vulnerable at the back and toothless up front when Paco Alcacer didn’t feature. But this wasn’t the all conquering side we had seen prior to 2014 - this was a very good side but a beatable one. And the worst part? They knew it. Against Italy they tried but it wasn’t good enough. They were outplayed. It’s time to rebuild.

Del Bosque has long overstayed his welcome

The jury was out on Vincent del Bosque’s reign after the disaster in Brazil. His desire to use Diego Costa as the focal point of the attack instead of David Villa didn’t work. The side suffered because of it and the blame landed at his feet. The Spanish FA contemplated the idea of sacking him but in the end decided he was the man to take this side forward.They were wrong - and can’t afford to make the same mistake again.

Del Bosque failed to bring through the youngsters and put them at the forefront of his side. We aren’t talking about risks here as the youngsters coming through are established ones with Champions League football under their belts. The likes of Koke, Saul Niguez and Alcacer were expected to lead this team forward. In the end we were left with more questions instead of answers. Why is Marc Bartra there when he can’t get a game for Barcelona? Why are Cesc Fabregas and Pedro Rodriguez in the squad after awful seasons? Why take just two strikers?

A lot of mistakes were made before Italy walked over Spain but del Bosque did nothing to prove his detractors wrong, some even accusing him of adding nothing new to the foundations Luis Aragones built. When the squad got too old to recycle, he’s suddenly out of ideas. Spain need new blood.