Steven Gerrard Talks England's 'Culture of Fear' After Euro 2016 Loss to Iceland

Steven Gerrard has rejected any suggestion that the current England squad "are not good enough" and blamed the "culture of fear" for the Three Lions' embarrassing exit from Euro 2016 at the hands of Iceland on Monday.  

The former England captain—whose side went out of the 2014 World Cup at the group stage—explained the concerns that would have gone through the players' heads when Wayne Rooney's early penalty in the last-16 clash was overturned by two Iceland goals.

In a column for the Telegraph, Gerrard wrote:

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I have been there on the receiving end of this. It was never to the same extent as a defeat like that against Iceland, but I know exactly how those players will be feeling after disappointing in a major tournament.

I can imagine how they were feeling as the second half continued in Nice. They knew what was in store as soon as Iceland scored their second goal.

When England went behind, many of those players will have been thinking of the consequences of defeat as much as what to do to get back in the game.

I hate to say it, but your mind drifts to what the coverage is going to be like back home and the level of criticism you are going to get. You cannot stop yourself. "What if we don’t get back into this? What will it be like if we go out here?"

"

Gerrard apportioned blame to the inexperience England have as a nation of winning major tournaments:

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We are not a side or nation with a culture of winning at the European Championship and the World Cup and the psychological impact of that is there to see at the first hint of trouble.

There is no environment of calm around the national team. There never has been. It is always hysteria. There is a culture of fear within and it has not been addressed.

"

While the Iceland loss is arguably the most humiliating in England's major tournament history, the past two decades have not been overly satisfying for the Three Lions.

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After a noble, if devastating, exit on penalties against Germany in the semi-finals of the home Euro 1996 tournament, England have endured further shootout defeats to Argentina, Portugal (twice) and Italy.

The 2014 debacle in Brazil came four years on from a humiliating 4-1 thrashing to Germany in the second round of the 2010 World Cup, before England arguably reached their nadir on Monday. 

England fans will hope it cannot get any worse, with the Telegraph's Thom Gibbs summing up how expectations have fallen over the years:

However, while belief may have shrunk, media scrutiny has only increased.

Gerrard added in his piece that this brings further difficulties: "It is all very well for the media to shake their heads at that and say we should be stronger and more level-headed in those situations, but there is a weight of history to contend with."

The one-time Liverpool talisman did hint at a cause for optimism, though, pointing to how England's cricket and rugby teams have pulled themselves out of the doldrums by appointing Trevor Bayliss and Eddie Jones, respectively, as coaches.

England's football team are now in need of a new leader after manager Roy Hodgson resigned following Monday's loss.

A Bleacher Report panel discussed some potential candidates the Football Association could look at, including former England boss Glenn Hoddle and current Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe:

For Gerrard, "with a shrewd appointment, we can make more of the quality we have," but it is a difficult claim to believe given how consistent England's disappointments have now become.