Þriðjudagur 28. 06. 16

Paul Hayward, aðal-íþróttafréttamaður The Daily Telegraph, var í Nice að kvöldi mánudagsins 27. júní og fylgdist með karlalandsliði Íslands sigra landslið Englands 2:1 og binda þar með enda á þátttöku Englendinga í EM 2016. Hann skrifar grein í blað sitt í dag og hefst hún á þessum orðum:

„England: a country where governments crumble, markets collapse and the nation's football team loses a European Championship game to Iceland.

In the event of England's exit from Euro 2016, an obvious headline had been laid out: ‘Go in the name of cod, go' – aimed at Roy Hodgson. But there is no need to run it. Hodgson's reign as England manager was beyond untenable from the moment Iceland erupted in celebration and he quit without taking questions.

Iceland deserved every second, every laugh and kiss of the post-match cavorting. But their amazing achievement in earning a quarter-final against France cannot disguise the reality that this was England's most humiliating night in international football: far worse than the 1950 World Cup defeat to the USA in Belo Horizonte.“

Amy Lawrence, íþróttafréttamaður The Guardian,  hefur grein sína um örlög enska liðsins á þessum orðum:

 „Takk fyrir Island. Thank you Iceland. Thank you for Gudmundur Benediktsson's epic falsetto commentary, for bringing one-tenth of the population to France to take part in this odyssey, for making Cristiano Ronaldo uppity and reminding the rest of us of the essential valour of the little guy's right to his aspirations, for competing so fearlessly to defeat England, for blowing our minds. Thank you for your co-manager's other job in dentistry, your class and determination in searching for a first win at a major finals, your exemplary coaching system, your comradeship within the team, your inspired hothousing of young talent in a weather-beaten place. Thank you for showing us imaginative ways of doing things can bring extraordinary achievements.“

Ég geri enga tilraun til að snara þessum lofsamlegu ummælum á íslensku. Líklega hafa aldrei fleiri lesið um Ísland í enskum blöðum en núna. Ógjörningur er að átta sig á endanlegum áhrifum hinnar glæsilegu frammistöðu strákanna okkar.

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