New Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson is hoping to engineer another huge upset against England on Saturday — eight years after his Iceland team shocked the Three Lions at Euro 2016.
The 57-year-old was Iceland co-manager with Lars Lagerback when they masterminded a 2-1 last-16 victory against Roy Hodgson’s men — one of the most humiliating results in England’s history.
Now he is targeting the same result in his first game in charge of Ireland in the League B fixture in Dublin after replacing Stephen Kenny.
“That night was special,” said Hallgrimsson, who has also managed Jamaica. “Everything we did that night succeeded, whether it was tactical, taking our chances, defending our goal, and nothing England tried that night succeeded, so it was just one of those days.
“Hopefully it will come again tomorrow. But we know, even if we have our best game, it still isn’t sure it will lead into a victory against a good team like England.”
England, fourth in the FIFA rankings, have reached the final of the past two European Championships and Hallgrimsson admits the current crop of players, under the temporary charge of former Ireland international Lee Carsley, represent a very different challenge from the one faced by his native country in 2016.
Ireland, who have not qualified for a major tournament since Euro 2016, are 58th in the rankings.
“It’s a totally different team,” he said. “The individual quality, the technical skills, the speed, of this team is much higher than the one we played.
“Also they are coming off a good tournament and I would say the biggest difference is they have stayed together for two months now, and we have three days to prepare.”
Carsley is taking charge of England for the first time since Gareth Southgate stepped down following Euro 2024 in Germany.
