It wasn't as painful as it might have been. At least England didn't go out of Euro 2016 after losing yet another penalty shootout. But that was about the only comfort to be had. Monday's 2-1 defeat to Iceland must rank as one of the most abject performances in the history of English football. Had Iceland played out of their skins and England put in a wholehearted effort and fallen short, then some fans might have been willing to forgive the humiliation. But it wasn't like that. Iceland were no more than competent and England played like a team that would have struggled against a non-league club side. I've seen better ball control skills in a Sunday league team.
Even more embarrassing for Tottenham Hotspurs' fans was that the England side had been built around five Spurs players. For want of a better word, Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Kyle Walker and Danny Rose were all hopeless. One first-half volley apart, Kane failed to make any impact on the game and his performance was summed up by a late free kick that he booted yards over the heads of any attackers in the Iceland penalty area and straight out for a goal kick.
Alli was a peripheral figure throughout, showing none of his usual incisive passing on show. Dier was so poor he was substituted at half-time, Walker dozed off for Iceland's equaliser. Rose was the only one not to have played a total shocker and even he was almost entirely ineffectual. At least the five Spurs players weren't out on their own; the six other players on the England side were every bit as poor. Joe Hart's goalkeeping was embarrassing, the centre-half pairing of Gary Cahill and Chris Smalling was an accident waiting to happen while Wayne Rooney and Raheem Sterling were just dreadful.
It won't have come as a complete surprise to see five Spurs playing well below par. The last four games of last season in which Tottenham completely lost their way are still all too fresh in fans' minds, as they lost out on second place to rivals Arsenal. But for the whole England team to be out-played in this way speaks of more than just typical "Spursy" late-season nerves. The problem arguably lies with the now-departed manager Roy Hodgson, who failed in almost every respect. He did not seem sure of his best team going in to the competition; he wasn't able to set up his side to defeat Iceland's tactics; and it looked as if he wasn't able to instil any belief into his players. Three fairly basic requirements for any manager.
And yet Hodgson is just the latest in a long line of managers who have tried and failed to drag out a half-decent performance from an England side in an international competition. So what's going on? Some have argued that the pressure and length of the Premier League season -- there is no winter break unlike their counterparts -- leaves England players running on empty by the time any tournament starts in the summer months. And there is some truth in this, because Kane, in particular, has looked leaden and out of ideas. He is a footballer in urgent need of a holiday. And now he's got one.
Yet think of some of the other Spurs players involved. Hugo Lloris' form has been top-notch in France's steady progression to the last eight. As has Ben Davies' for Wales. And while Nacer Chadli and Mousa Dembele have only played intermittently, after a ropey first game against Italy, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen have been rock solid for Belgium ever since. None of these players have shown any symptoms of fatigue. Quite the reverse, in fact. The longer the tournament has gone on, the more up for it all these players have looked.
In the meantime, Spurs' five England players get a slightly earlier holiday than they might have wished. Let's hope they use the time well. Some long periods of rest and recreation. Along with intensive therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by the Euros.
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