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LONDON. — England’s shock defeat by Iceland in Nice and subsequent Euro 2016 soccer exit on Monday night suggested that the British government isn’t the only national institution threatened with a leadership vacuum.

Roy Hodgson’s post-match resignation leaves the Football Association searching for a successor, but the national team’s crisis of authority stretches beyond the dugout following another characterless display lacking in the mental qualities that have underpinned England’s greatest football achievements.

“We haven’t got leaders,” former winger Chris Waddle told the BBC in the immediate aftermath of England’s inglorious exit. “They’re all pampered, they’re all just headphones. They don’t communicate on the pitch or off it.

“You can’t get anything out of them,” he added. “That’s why we’re no good.”

Hodgson’s players wilted after falling 2-1 behind, struggling to string passes together and failing to master basic techniques as the enormity of their impending exit dawned on them.

“Everyone was waiting for someone else to pull them out,” Ian Wright said on British television. “They were petrified.”

Joey Barton believes England’s failures at major soccer tournaments can be attributed to the lack of a “winning culture” – because their players care more about earning money than achieving success on the field.

The Three Lions crashed out of Euro 2016 on Monday night, slumping to a 2-1 defeat to Iceland in Nice after a disastrous performance.

That result brought the curtain down on Hodgson’s reign as manager, with Gary Neville and Ray Lewington also leaving their posts in the coaching staff.

Barton believes that Hodgson must bear the brunt of the criticism for the failure, but says there are deeper issues at play.

“There have been so many problems with this side, but the biggest was the manager,” he wrote in L’Equipe.

“He has now stepped down, as he should have after the World Cup. There were errors, especially that of Joe Hart , but Hodgson must take responsibility.

“England is also paying for a cultural problem. Hart, for example, appears at half-time in adverts for shampoo. How does that help you win?

“In England, people only think about earning money, not winning matches. That would not happen if there was a real winning culture.

“The FA wants to give the national team to English coaches, but they’re poor. They’re often ex-players who become coaches too quickly. Being a good player and being a good coach are two different things.

“Gary Neville has been named among the potential successors to Hodgson, but why? He was completely rubbish at Valencia. It’s too much for me.”

Next month, England will celebrate half a century since Bobby Moore, their greatest captain, lifted the World Cup on home soil in 1966.

Moore has been succeeded by the likes of Bryan Robson, Terry Butcher, Tony Adams and John Terry, all of whom took responsibility and guided the team through troubled spells. — Reuters.