England vs Iceland: EURO 2016 Round of 16 Preview & Prediction

England take on the smallest nation in their Round of 16 European Championship clash, as the Three Lions go head-to-head with minnows Iceland inside Nice’s Allianz Riviera on Monday night.

Failure to defeat the surprise package of the finals in France will almost certainly spell the end of Roy Hodgson’s managerial stint this summer.

The 68-year-old was heavily slammed for making six changes ahead of England’s final Group B fixture against Slovakia last Monday, which they eventually drew 0-0 to finish as runners-up to fellow home nations Wales.

Meanwhile Iceland almost finished second and came through unbeaten during the group stages, finishing behind Group F winners Hungary after defeating Austria 2-1 last Wednesday after impressive draws against Portugal and Hungary.

In fact; the much unfancied Iceland [before the tournament], has the same population of Leicester City – so the unthinkable is certainly not impossible after the Foxes’ remarkable 2015/16 Premier League campaign.

Monday’s tie will be the third encounter between England and Iceland. The Three Lions are unbeaten, having drawn 1-1 in June 1982 in a World Cup warm-up match and then enjoyed a 6-1 victory in June 2004 before that year’s European Championship.

Excluding penalty shootouts, England are unbeaten in their last 10 games at a Euros – with their last defeat coming against this year’s hosts France back in 2004.

However the Three Lions’ last four knockout matches in this tournament have all gone to penalties.

They won the first shootout versus Spain back in 1996, but have since lost the last three against Germany (1996), Portugal (2004) and Italy (2012).

On the other hand; Iceland will prepare for kick-off in buoyant mood having lost just once in their last nine competitive matches – winning four and drawing four of those matches.

Other than Spain, Iceland’s joint-managers Lars Lagerbäck and Heimir Hallgrímsson are the only bosses to name the starting line-up in all three of their group games.

Goalkeeper Hannes Thor Halldorsson is expected to endure another busy night between the sticks, as the NEC Nijmegen shot stopper has made the most saves during this summer’s finals (18).

Iceland finished second in Group F in their first-ever major tournament – Photo: Witters / Offside.

Team News:

England boss Hodgson is expected to recall captain Wayne Rooney and Tottenham quartet Dele Alli, Harry Kane, Danny Rose and Kyle Walker.

If skipper Rooney plays, it will be his 115th cap which would equal David Beckham’s record for most games by an outfield player for England.

Fellow forward Daniel Sturridge could play on the right side of attack, with Kane in the centre and Raheem Sterling on the left – despite heavy criticism of his earlier performances in these finals.

As for Iceland, they are expected to name the same starting XI for the fourth EURO 2016 fixture in a row.

Striker Alfred Finnbogason returns from suspension, but he is fully expected to be named on the bench after missing last week’s win over Austria.

Elsewhere; seven Iceland players are a yellow card away from missing a potential quarter-final – Kari Arnason, Birkir Bjarnason, Johann Gudmundsson, Hannes Halldorsson, Birkir Sævarsson, Ari Skulason and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson.

FIFA World Ranking: England – 11th; Iceland – 34th
Best European Championship Finish: England – Third (1968); Iceland – First-ever European Championship finals
Previous Meeting: England 6-1 Iceland – June 5, 2004 (International Friendly)
Form: England – WWWDWD; Iceland – WLWDDW
Key Men: England – Wayne Rooney; Iceland – Gylfi Sigurdsson
Shoot Says: England 1-0 Iceland