Iceland hands England an (embarrassing) exit

Steven Gerrard has opened up about the pressure on England players when you are on the verge of failure at a major tournament.

There were suggestions that senior members of the squad were dissatisfied by some of Hodgson’s tactical decisions and selection calls, particularly the recall of Raheem Sterling for the Iceland match, but Rooney acted quickly to dismiss them.

Rooney released a statement to the Press Association which said: “In response to recent media reports, I’d like to say that is completely untrue”.

“If it was true then they disguised it well from me and coaching staff”, he said. You can’t motivate players who only care about themselves and their bank balance.

“I’m very fragile today”.

“They played on their strengths and we’re trying to do the same”.

I am sure he would have apologised to everyone in the dressing room after making a meal of the Gareth Bale’s free-kick, and I am sure he will apologise again for his mistake of letting in a shot at the pace of a pass back go through him.

He said that he was “not ruling out a non-English coach” and Hodgson, who made a reluctant appearance alongside Glenn at England’s Chantilly media centre, said that the nationality of his successor should not be an issue.

“Over the last 12 months the England cricket and rugby teams have faced the same crisis as we do now after miserable campaigns in worldwide tournaments”, he said.

“We’re not denying that our perennial problem is that England seem brittle at the business end of the season”.

FA chief executive Glenn, vice-chairman David Gill and technical director Dan Ashworth are to meet later this week to discuss the role further.

Iceland meanwhile were celebrating pulling off one of the biggest shocks in football history and have a date with host nation France on Sunday after reaching the last eight in their first ever participation in the Euros.

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He added that 45-year-old Southgate, a respected figure within the FA and in charge of the Under-21 side that finished bottom of their group at last summer’s European Championship, would be “a pretty obvious one to pick” in terms of the initial interim.

“Against France we can go relaxed and show our best”.

“It’s pleasant for football to have one or two Cinderella stories”.

In the most attractive-looking quarter-final, Italy face Germany in Bordeaux on Saturday.

Asked if they would be prepared to wait for a candidate to run down his contract, Glenn said: “It is a possibility, of course”.

“We clearly need an inspirational manager who can harness all the resources that the English game has got, everything we now have at St George’s Park, to make us more resilient in tournaments”.

“You might get interim solutions plural as we have had in the past – get a few managers to come and help”.