The Morning Sports Briefing

Iceland freeze England out of Europe, why Joe Schmidt would be a hard act to follow and what to watch out for

England’s Joe Hart looks dejected after the final whistle. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters
England’s Joe Hart looks dejected after the final whistle. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters

Soccer: Euro 2016

Iceland last night pulled off the shock of the tournament - freezing England out of the European Championships with a 2-1 last-16 victory.

The smallest nation to ever reach a major tournament, the shock defeat at the Stadium de Nice led to English manager Roy Hodgson announcing his resignation after the game.

Earlier in the day Italy knocked out the reigning champions Spain - who, bored with success, now head for the beach. Ken Early was at the Stade de France - "From the first 10 minutes you could see how this one was likely to go. Italy were sharp, aggressive, physical, direct. Spain were slow, slack, lethargic, and boring."

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Emmet Malone is looking ahead to Ireland's World Cup qualifying campaign - and he says that Martin O'Neill needs new talent to take the team to Russia. "With Robbie Brady, Hoolahan and Jeff Hendrick all having had really good tournaments, individual talent has played its part. How O'Neill must wish it was like his club days now and he could simply go out and buy some more."

Rugby

Meanwhile Gerry Thornley is back in Ireland after the tour defeat in South Africa - and with head coach Joe Schmidt currently pondering his future beyond the end of his current contract until the end of next season, if he does leave he'll certainly be a hard act to follow.

“Schmidt’s work ethic and commitment to his job is, by all accounts, off the page, and is almost matched by his vast rugby knowledge. With Andy Farrell now aboard, you wouldn’t swap this coaching ticket for any other in the world.”

GAA

Jim McGuinness is this morning writing about the importance of raw desire. Something he seen plenty of from the Ireland team in Euro 2016, led out by his own countyman Seamus Coleman - "Seamus was a genuinely talented Gaelic football player and, like most people involved in GAA in the county, I would have seen him play many times. In a different world, he would have been playing for Donegal in Breffni Park the evening before rather than in Lyon."

Golf

With no Ryder Cup points or Race to Dubai points on offer at this week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, and increased incentives from the PGA European Tour for players to play at the French Open - Rory McIlroy will lead a strong Irish contingent at the French Open in Paris. Shane Lowry though is ready to defend his WGC-Bridgestone title in Ohio.

Tennis

Johnny Watterson was in Wimbledon yesterday as Novak Djokovic brushed James Ward aside in his first Centre Court appearance of the year - "When Novak Djokovic carved his forehand away from James Ward for his first point of the championship, it appeared to impart a sense of directional certainty to the London crowd."

What to watch out for

Johnny Watterson will have all the latest as Wimbledon continues. It's also live on BBC and Setanta. Both Serena Williams and Andy Murray are in action today.

BBC 2, 11.30am-9.30pm

BBC 1, 1.45pm-6pm

Setanta, 11.30am-8.30pm

The Munster Under-21 hurling quarter-final between Cork and Limerick is underway at 7.30pm.

TG4 from 7.15pm