ICELAND pulled off one of the biggest shocks in European Championship history by beating England 2-1 in the round of 16 Monday, continuing the astonishing run of the smallest nation at the tournament.

    England slumped to its most embarrassing loss in a generation after taking the lead in the fourth minute through Wayne Rooney’s penalty.

    Ragnar Sigurdsson and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson took advantage of defensive shortcomings by England to put Iceland ahead in the 18th minute, and the Icelanders defended superbly in the second half to earn the biggest victory in their history and a quarterfinal match against France in Saint-Denis.

    “They thought that this would be a walk in the park,” Sigurdsson said. “We had faith in our ability.”

    Iceland, a country of 330,000 people, is featuring in its first ever major tournament.

    For a soccer nation of England’s standing, its record in major tournaments is woeful. The English have still never won a knockout-stage game abroad in the European Championship in eight attempts and haven’t won a match beyond the group stage of a major tournament since 2006.

    This defeat will probably go down as England’s biggest humiliation since losing 1-0 to the United States in 1950 World Cup.

    The team of Premier League stars took the lead on a balmy night at the Stade de Nice after winger Raheem Sterling was clipped by goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson as he prodded the ball past him. Rooney converted the penalty into the bottom-left corner.

    Iceland struck back immediately through Sigurdsson, volleying in at the far post after Kari Arnason’s flick-on from a long throw. The long-throw routine has been a feature of Iceland’s play at this tournament.

    Sigthorsson then took advantage of more slack defending by England, getting time and space to shoot from just inside the area. Goalkeeper Joe Hart got a hand to the effort but the ball squirmed over the line.

    Iceland was relatively untroubled in the second half as England’s passing and touch deserted its players, with Rooney especially culpable.

    When the final whistle went, Iceland’s squad and staff raced onto the field in pure joy to celebrate with the team. Iceland captain Aron Gunnarrsson, who plays for Cardiff in the second tier of English soccer, tore off his shirt off and ran over to fans, leading his teammates in dancing and singing.

    Meanwhile, Spain’s era of dominance at the European Championship came to an end when Italy beat the two-time defending champion 2-0.

    Italy deserved its victory and was impressive from the start at Stade de France, stifling Spain’s attacking intent and creating several scoring opportunities with its slick interplay.

    The victory meant Italy avoided a third consecutive elimination at the European Championship to Spain, and secure a quarterfinal clash against another old foe, Germany.

    Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini put his team ahead in the 33rd minute, when he poked the ball across the line after Spain goalkeeper David de Gea couldn’t hold on to a free kick by Eder.

    “There were several games we needed to take revenge for,” said Chiellini, one of four Italians who lost to Spain the last two times. “But we also wanted and deserved this victory.”

    It was Italy’s first win over La Roja at the European Championship since it was defeated by the Spaniards 4-0 in the 2012 final.

    (SD-Agencies)