English fans blast Three Lions' defence
The night started on a high for England fans who showed up at McGettigan's bar in Clarke Quay to watch the Euro 2016 last-16 clash with Iceland yesterday morning (Singapore time).
They sang the national anthem with gusto before kick-off and there were roars of approval when England were awarded a penalty in the fourth minute, after Raheem Sterling raced onto Daniel Sturridge's fine pass and drew a foul from Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson.
Skipper Wayne Rooney converted the penalty on his 115th England appearance - which tied David Beckham's record for an outfield player - for his 53rd international goal.
But the celebrations were short-lived as barely 34 seconds later, Ragnar Sigurdsson stunned the Three Lions with an equaliser.
The England fans were then shell-shocked in the 18th minute when Kolbeinn Sigthorsson's tame shot squirmed past England goalkeeper Joe Hart for what turned out to be the winner.
"We have great players, but the team did not play together, that's our biggest problem," said England fan Jermaine Dawson, a 38-year-old engineer.
"We scored early, but we shouldn't have allowed Iceland to come back like that. We should have won by four or five goals against a team like Iceland, but it was not to be.
"I thought England will score an equaliser to force extra time.
"And, if the match had gone to a penalty shoot-out, I was confident that we will, for the first time in a long time, win a penalty shoot-out."
Until the final whistle was blown, the English fans remained on the edge of their seats, praying for a miraculous comeback from their countrymen.
When it was finally over, they were in disbelief.
"It's a pity, maybe over-confidence got to the players and that contributed to the loss," said Dawson's colleague, Charlie Thomas, 25.
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"The defenders were sloppy, but Roy Hodgson should have done something to fix this problem, but he didn't."
"Even though Hart was at fault for Iceland's second goal, there was only so much he could do because the defence wasn't there to support him.
"In order for us to win games, the defenders have got to carry out their roles well, too."
While almost all the English fans had their hands on their heads, civil servants Nakiran Rajandran and Vineeth Naki celebrated when Iceland scored their two goals.
"Honestly speaking, Iceland played much better than England and they deserved the victory," said Nakiran, 25.
"England have many superstars but they don't have something that the Icelandic players have, which is the passion to play for their country."
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