Rodriguez got open for a low, hard shot in the second half that Bravo knocked down before pouncing on the ball before Colombia could get to it. Rodriguez pounded the wet turf in frustration after the play. “We are in the round of 16”. The voice has gone!
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“Our national handball team has done this many times”, said captain Aron Gunnarsson, “and in the same way as they’ve been able to take their drive from the Icelandic craziness, so have we this time”. But Iceland knows everything about English football, we are English football insane. The benefit is you probably don’t know much about Iceland players – we know all about yours.
Hallgrimsson said: “They are a creative team and playing with a lot of good individual players and it is a different English team to before and credit to Roy”.
Marcel Koller’s team made an early exit from after losing 2-1 to Iceland on Wednesday, following a goalless draw against Portugal. “That’s what this means to us”.
With his team trailing 1-0 as the players headed back to the dressing room, Koller finally decided to make Alaba play in a more familiar, deeper role after the interval. I’d like to give credit to Austria. We’re a tight-knit group and what we’ve done is fantastic. And the supporters: 10,000 people from Iceland were here. “It’s unbelievable. It’s like having your family at the game”. “This is extra sweet for us”.
“But we go into this game with our full force – we believe in our ability”.
Man of the match Kari Arnason, who set up Jon Bodvarsson for their 18th minute opener with a flicked header, also welcomed the opportunity to play against Wayne Rooney’s men.
“We’re kinda used to it”, Traustason said. “I’m not going to go into detail, I want to keep secrets from the training ground”.
Austria defender Aleksandar Dragovic struck the post with a penalty in the 37th after David Alaba was tugged back, and Iceland repelled a succession of attacks before Alessandro Schoepf equalized in the 60th.
Then came Traustason’s late strike. “We have some values in the squad that I think everyone who sees our games can see”. Frustrated Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo might have blasted what he felt to be their “small mentality”, but if he’d been watching them the past 21 months he’d have seen a team almost identical to the one that shut him down in Saint-Etienne. Every Icelander is happy.
The greatest thing you’ll ever hear..
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“As a country, we’ve always looked towards England in the finals”, said the Cardiff City midfielder.
