Iceland’s last involvement in Euro 2020 came nine months ago when an injury-time goal from Hungary ended their chances of qualifying. They retain one distinction, however. It remains the case that the last goal England conceded in a European Championships was scored by Kolbeinn Sigthorsson.
When England lost to Iceland in Euro 2016, it completed a decade without winning a knockout game at a tournament. The embarrassment of the result was compounded by the wretchedness of the performance. The farcical element was amplified by the revelation that Roy Hodgson, a manager with a reputation for rigorous, if dull, planning, had chosen not to scout Iceland, instead going on a boat trip on the Seine with his assistant Ray Lewington, who had never seen Paris.
A different sort of humiliation awaited for England as Hodgson’s successor, Sam Allardyce, came and went after one game, albeit a match he won and for off-field reasons. Gareth Southgate stood in; he seemed both the caretaker and the FA blazer.
Five years on, with England potentially in their first final for 55, Southgate is established as England’s best manager since Sir Alf Ramsey. He has changed the culture and the results alike. He has raised the bar and expectations. Before they regressed, Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England were a quarter-final team.
Southgate has taken England a stage further and in a manner that has flew in the face of their past. “We’ve knocked off so many hoodoos or perceived barriers already,” he said this week. Now for the next one: after World Cup and Nations League semi-final setbacks, it is the chance to go a step further.
Revisiting the failure five years ago illustrates how far England are the antithesis of that team. Hodgson infamously had Harry Kane taking corners. Southgate’s side have become set-piece specialists without wasting their best goalscorer by giving him dead-ball duties.
Kane did not score in Euro 2016; after a barren group stage, he has three goals now. Raheem Sterling, another who did not find the net in that tournament, branded himself “the hated one;” he is more loved now.
In 2016, Wayne Rooney was crowbarred into midfield in a way that scarcely benefited Dele Alli. That was England, forever in thrall to their big names, compromising others as a consequence. Two of Southgate’s boldest early calls were to ditch Rooney and Joe Hart. It amounted to a goodbye to emblems of a disappointing past.
Southgate had the slenderest managerial CV of any England manager since the first, Walter Winterbottom, but unlike several of his predecessors, he has shown a determination not to be swayed by popular opinion. Bravery has not come from gung-ho tactics, but from who he has played. “You know that if you change the shape and pick certain personnel instead of others and it goes wrong, you are dead,” he reflected last week.
England have floundered by picking semi-fit players in the past. Southgate chose two, but has prospered by reintroducing Harry Maguire at the right point while keeping Jordan Henderson in reserve as Kalvin Phillips impressed. He retained faith in Kane when he was out of form and was rewarded for building a team around Sterling when he had lost his place for Manchester City.
Southgate’s defence has been rock solid. Meticulous preparation resulted in a wing-back system to neuter the threat of the German pair of Robin Gosens and Joshua Kimmich.
Southgate has identified specific players for particular games: Kieran Trippier as a defensive left-back against Croatia, Bukayo Saka’s ball-carrying ability against the Czech Republic. Past England managers have played favourites. Southgate has illustrated that he values all but is giving preferential treatment to none in a tournament that has felt a job-share between Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Jadon Sancho and Saka.
A less immodest man — Allardyce, say — would have boasted about being repeatedly proved right. Now Southgate may have two games left to carry on getting his decisions right. Given the influence of Denmark’s wing-backs, in particular the outstanding Joakim Maehle, does he revert to a similar system to counter them, and if so who drops out? With Saka back in contention, should he, Sancho, Foden or Grealish start? England’s past tournaments are littered with mistakes but now Southgate is a few correct calls away from legendary status.
Ukraine 0 England 4: player ratings
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UKRAINE RATINGS: Georgiy Bushchan 5 - Saved a potential goal of the tournament from Harry Kane but there was nothing the goalkeeper could do about four goals all from close range. -
Mykola Matvienko 5 - Struggled with the intensity of England's attacks. A fine performance in possession of the ball but it was a bad day at the office for Ukraine’s defence in Rome. -
Serghiy Krivtsov 6 - Forced off in the first half with an injury. -
Illia Zabarnyi 5 - Struggled with the movement of England’s dynamic attack. A mammoth task for the Ukraine side who had done tremendously to get this far. -
Vitaliy Mykolenko 7 - Broke up play in the middle of the park well for Ukraine - one of few who didn’t look startled by the occasion. -
Oleksandr Karavaev 5 - Didn’t take care of the ball and looked uncomfortable in defence. -
Oleksandr Zinchenko 5 - Slowly grew into the game as Ukraine switched systems but the Manchester City man couldn’t replicate his performance from the round of 16 against Sweden. -
Serhiy Sydorchuk 5 - Anonymous for most of the game. Ukraine’s midfield could rarely build any attacks that weren’t through counter-pressing. -
Mykola Shaparenko 6 - Caught the ball well on the brink of half time but got the angle slightly wrong to send it wide of the post. -
Roman Yaremchuk 7 - Strong runs through the middle of the park tried to get Ukraine going on the front foot. Ukraine’s best player on the night. -
Andriy Yarmolenko 5 - Worked hard to lead the Ukrainian line but Gareth Southgate seemed to have a plan for the dangerman. Cancelled out. -
SUBS: Viktor Tsygankov (Kryvtsov 35) 6 - Ukraine looked much better when Tsygankov was introduced as Andriy Shevchenko switched to a 4-3-3 formation. -
Yehven Makarenko (Sydorchuk 64’) 6 - A tough ask to make a difference when coming on with the score at 4-0. -
ENGLAND RATINGS: Jordan Pickford 6 - A good save denied Yaremchuk who broke through after an under-hit Kyle Walker pass. One rash moment almost saw England’s clean sheet wiped as the goalkeeper completely misjudged the ball on a clearance. -
Luke Shaw 9 - Runs up the left flank stretched the pitch for England, which saw a number of dangerous attacks worked from his side. A perfect cross found Maguire for England’s second before the Manchester United left-back then hit Kane for 3-0. -
Harry Maguire 8 - Looked in control throughout the full match and found space in the box brilliantly to convert a Luke Shaw freekick. -
John Stones 7 - England’s unit were defensively solid throughout which didn’t leave too much for Stones to do. -
Kyle Walker 7 - Walker looked sharp on the right side but had his goalkeeper to thank in the first half after an under-hit pass. -
Declan Rice 7 - Calm in the middle of the park as part of an excellent defensive performance. Almost troubled the goalkeeper with a powerful strike from outside the box just after the half hour mark. -
Kalvin Phillips 7 - Unnoticed for the majority of the game with England’s left side building the majority of attacks. An easy night’s work for the Leeds man. -
Raheem Sterling 8 - The Manchester City man has been one of England’s key players for Euro 2020 and his assist to Harry Kane for the opener cut through the Ukraine defence with ease. A constant threat. -
Mason Mount 7 - A quick challenge stopped Yarmolenko inside the box from pulling the trigger. A good performance on both ends of the pitch today. Great delivery from the corner helped Jordan Henderson to his first international goal. -
Jadon Sancho 7 - Manchester United’s new star looked dangerous on the ball. Clearly a talented player heading to Old Trafford. -
Harry Kane 8 - A striker’s run and cool finish saw Harry Kane get England ahead early before heading in a second. Gareth Southgate’s hitman could be peaking at just the right time. -
SUBS: Jordan Henderson (Rice 57) 7 - It took 62 caps for the Liverpool skipper to get his first goal in England colours. A well deserved bonus for a player who has been one of the most consistent throughout his career. -
Kieran Trippier (Shaw 64) 6 - Handled Ukraine’s attacks well - though the game was long over by the time the Atletico Madrid La Liga winner was introduced. -
Marcus Rashford (Sterling 65’) 6 - A training session by the time the Manchester United star was introduced. -
Jude Bellingham (Phillips 65) 6 - Played the game out in midfield as Southgate prepared for the next round. -
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Kane 73) 6 - On for Kane with the semi-finals in mind.
