PARIS: England on Tuesday surveyed the wreckage of their humiliating Euro 2016 exit as now former coach Roy Hodgson agonised over a defeat that added to the nation's sense of post-Brexit turmoil.
Iceland, the smallest nation ever to play in a major tournament, erupted in celebration after sending England crashing out with a 2-1 win on Monday that ranks among football's biggest ever shocks.
The defeat left English football at a low point and Hodgson, in a highly awkward press conference, struggled to explain how his team of Premier League stars had collapsed.
"I didn't see the defeat coming," Hodgson said.
"I didn't see, and neither did the players, the sort of performance we gave last night that saw us knocked out."
Adding to the sense of huge embarrassment around the England camp, Hodgson, 68, who had resigned after the match, told the press conference: "I don't really know what I'm doing here."
Captain Wayne Rooney meanwhile insisted that reports the senior players had lost faith in the outgoing manager were "completely untrue".
Asked about the claims, Hodgson said: "If it was true then they disguised it well from me and the coaching staff.
"We had no indication from the players that they were anything but behind what we were doing, behind the game plans that we had."
Rooney gave a full-strength England the perfect start with a fourth minute penalty, but Hodgson's men rapidly ran out of ideas against a nation ranked 34th in the world.
Ragnar Sigurdsson and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson claimed their place in sporting history with the goals for Iceland.
The Times newspaper said England had been "utterly clueless".
Goalkeeper Joe Hart, who let the second Iceland goal squirm under his fingers, said the humiliation had left English football "in a low place".
"We will get a lot of flak and we deserve it," said the Manchester City stopper.
Former England striker Alan Shearer said it was "the worst performance I have seen from an England team".
England Under-21 coach Gareth Southgate was the early favourite to replace Hodgson.
But Southgate comes with baggage on the international stage -- as a player he missed the crucial spot kick against Germany when England last reached the semi-finals of a major tournament at Euro '96.
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