Substitute Arnor Ingvi Traustason’s last-gasp winner fired Iceland past Austria 2-1 in their final Group F match at Euro 2016 on Wednesday to book a last-16 showdown with England.
Jon Dadi Bodvarsson swept Iceland into an 18th-minute lead at the Stade de France, with Austria paying dearly for Aleksandar Dragovic’s missed first-half penalty.
Alessandro Schopf came off the bench to level for Austria on the hour, but Traustason’s 94th-minute strike condemned Marcel Koller’s side to a premature exit.
Iceland, the smallest nation to appear at a major finals, will play England in the last 16 in Nice after finishing second in the group, behind Hungary but above Portugal, following a thrilling 3-3 draw in Lyon.
Sport360 rounds-up the best of the post-match reaction:
Heimir Hallgrimsson, Iceland’s joint coach:
“I think everybody who was watching the game realised how much it meant to us. We were willing to sacrifice everything to win.
“We were lucky on occasions but showed fantastic mentality throughout and there were a lot of tired legs.”
The commentary of Iceland's winner today... https://t.co/Tqi0XHdWwL
— Christian Machowski (@Christian_ESEM) June 22, 2016
And from the other camp, Austria coach Marcel Koller absolved Aleksandar Dragovic of any blame after the central defender missed a costly first-half penalty in Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to Iceland at Euro 2016.
“I choose two penalty-takers, David (Alaba) and Dragovic. They have to agree on the pitch who will take it.
“The one who feels better shoots. Dragovic assumed responsibility and there’s nothing to blame him for.”
