England head coach Roy Hodgson is seen during the UEFA EURO 2016 round of 16 match between England and Iceland Iceland at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice on June 27, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] |
Manager Roy Hodgson resigned within minutes, following hot on the heels of Prime Minister David Cameron who quit on Friday after the vote to leave the EU.
The referendum result stunned European leaders, sent the British pound to multi-decade lows, and cost Britain its AAA credit rating. Experts called it the biggest blow to the EU project since its inception after World War Two.
The response to the soccer shock was dramatic too as fans contemplated the 50th anniversary of England's 1966 World Cup win in about one month's time.
Pundits ranked the defeat for a country that claims to have invented the game and is ranked 11th in the world among the worst since it lost to the amateurs of the United States in the 1950 World Cup.
"Mon dieu! Brexit X2 in a week from hell. Exit Europe, lose AAA rating, lose to Iceland in #Euro2016 utter nightmare! #Brexit2," mocked one French Twitter user.
Jokes also proliferated online about petitions being set up to get the match replayed - a mirror of the online campaign to get the referendum vote overturned by Parliament.
One suggested Hodgson should take over from Cameron because he would be the perfect man to lead the country out of Europe.