Football
ESPN staff 8y

France's Bacary Sagna: Iceland gave England 'big slap in the face'

Iceland gave England "a big slap in the face" by knocking them out of Euro 2016 on Monday, according to France full-back Bacary Sagna.

The tournament hosts will face Iceland instead of England in Sunday's quarterfinal after goals from Ragnar Sigurdsson and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson dealt the Three Lions a 2-1 round-of-16 defeat in Nice.

Sagna, whose teammates at Manchester City include Raheem Sterling and Joe Hart, admitted that England's premature departure from the European Championship -- and Roy Hodgson's subsequent resignation -- came as some surprise.

Speaking at a news conference on Friday, the 33-year-old said: "It's a shock, a shock for the country. A lot of people expected it to be France v England.

"They've got a big slap in the face. The criticism of the players is too much. They'll get a new coach and try to manage the pressure better.

"I thought England would win because they have a young team with plenty of talent. On the other hand, I was quite happy for Iceland because they played really well.

"They taught England a lesson and deserve to be where they are."

Former Arsenal right-back Sagna is confident Les Bleus will avoid such a lesson when they tackle Iceland at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis this weekend.

Didier Deschamps' men have been impressive on home turf, resisting Switzerland and beating Romania and Albania in the group stage and negotiating the threat posed by the Republic of Ireland.

"We certainly do not underestimate Iceland but we belong to the best sides in Europe, we're among the favourites and we're at home," Sagna added.

"We have a status to live up to. When we see how the people in the fan zones celebrate when we score a goal, it warms our hearts. We just can't let them down.

"I'm not thinking about defeat. I'm not planning to go on holiday early. I want to go all the way."

France are so confident, in fact, that they are not even thinking of going to a penalty shootout.

"We haven't practiced penalties,'' Sagna said. "Because we're counting on making the difference earlier."

But Sagna said France won't take Iceland lightly, as England were accused of doing.

"For a lot of people they are the surprise of the tournament, like the Leicester City of Euro 2016," said Sagna, referring to the Premier League champions. "But they totally deserve to be here and have shown they can beat good teams. You can't underestimate them."

And reaching the semifinals, a target set by French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet, will not satisfy Sagna, who insists his colleagues harbour loftier ambitions.

"I don't agree," he said. "To me, bowing out in the semifinals would still be a failure. We all know what we're here for."

Information from Press Association Sport and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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