The fact that England reached the Round of 16 in Euro 2016 after posting an undefeated record in the group stage might have had them thinking there was no possible way they could be put in the same class as the biggest disappointments in the tournament. However, one loss changed everything for Three Lions as their humbling defeat at the hands of Iceland was classified as the biggest embarrassment in the history of their soccer program by many tabloids.
It’s interesting because Portugal, who was a disaster in the group stage and also suffered a calamitous result against Iceland, isn’t on this list. Had it not been for the softest schedule in the history of the tournament, they probably wouldn’t have even survived. They just reached the quarterfinals on Thursday after needed penalty kicks to get past Poland, which we all know is a massive soccer powerhouse.
As it stands, England earns the trophy as the biggest disappointment of Euro 2016 but Portugal is still standing (somehow). The Three Lions weren’t the only team that has failed to live up to expectations at the Euro. Here is a look at the four biggest disappointments from Euro 2016.
England
Everything seemed to be going England’s way when Wayne Rooney opened the scoring in their Round of 16 game against Iceland with a penalty kick goal. However, Iceland responded just two minutes later when Ragnar Sigurdsson put a rebound in the back of the net and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson put the game away when he scored the game-winning goal. The tabloids were relentless as they ripped England apart for the disappointing result against an Iceland side with a part-time coach and a part-time soccer culture. Iceland had never played in a knockout game before at the Euro and their victory sent shockwaves through a nation that is the same size as Leicester. Roy Hodgson immediately resigned from his role as manager following the defeat and while England finished the tournament with a win, two draws and one loss that defeat was big enough to make them the biggest disappointment of Euro 2016 to this point.
Austria
Austria was considered a popular darkhorse pick to advance to the Round of 16 out of Group F where they were placed with Portugal, Hungary and Iceland. However, Austria was stunned by Hungary in its group stage opener and then barely managed to hang on for a 0-0 draw with Portugal in a game where they were severely outplayed. They still had the opportunity to advance heading in to their group stage finale with Iceland but conceded a 94th minute goal that sealed their fate in a 1-0 loss that led to Iceland advancing as the second seed from Group F. Austria ended the tournament with a single goal and zero wins as they went from a sleeper pick to advance to the Round of 16 to one of the biggest disappointments.
Ukraine
Expectations weren’t nearly as high for a Ukraine side that wasn’t expected to be a major player in this tournament but nobody would have predicted they would lose each of their three games while failing to score a single goal. Ukraine was severely outplayed by Germany and Poland but the biggest stunner had to be their loss to Northern Ireland, which finished the group stage with that one win. Even though they weren’t expected to advance the worst performance in the tournament cannot be left off this list as Ukraine went down hard at Euro 2016.
Sweden
Zlatan Ibrahimovic could only do so much on his own and with a severe lack of support behind him Sweden failed to win a single game in the group stage. A draw with Ireland in their opener meant Sweden would likely need at least one win to advance but they failed to register a single shot in a 1-0 loss to Italy and then dropped their final game 1-0 to Belgium. Sweden finished the tournament with only three shots on target and that unspectacular performance has to be classified as one of the biggest disappointments of the tournament.
