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Euro 2016: 5 mistakes made by England against Iceland

Raheem Sterling didn’t have a great game despite drawing the penalty for England

England have only themselves to blame as again they make an early exit from a major tournament. Having avoided Portugal courtesy of the last minute Icelandic goal against Austria; It was supposed to be the easier route to the Quarter Finals for the three lions. What happened next was just too unforgivable a sin. We take a look at five mistakes that  could have otherwise change their fortune in the tournament.

#1 The starting line up

Raheem Stirling has been at the forefront of criticisms in this Euro thanks to his poor display in the group matches. He looked rusty and uncomfortable with the ball. Although there were glimpses of his quality it’s safe to say; he was nowhere his best.  The inclusion of Raheem Stirling especially after being left out against Slovakia comes as a surprise for many of the English fans.

The gamble to tinker with the starting line-up didn’t help either, Roy Hodgson was expected to start with the same team that beat wales in their last group match but staggeringly he made six changes that no one saw coming. The risk strategy that he opted didn’t work and it only made his task harder to come up with the perfect 11 for the game against Iceland. Throughout their short spell in the tournament, Hodgson didn’t seem to know his best playing 11 which is shocking knowing the fact that they were the only team to get through the qualifiers unbeaten.

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