England vs Iceland LIVE: Result and reaction as Jon Thorsteinsson goal gives visitors memorable win
Gareth Southgate’s men play their final game ahead of this summer’s tournament, which begins with a fixture against Serbia on 16 June
England were beaten 1-0 by Iceland in their final warm-up game ahead of Euro 2024. With Gareth Southgate naming his 26-man squad on Thursday there was a feeling of anticipation ahead of the clash at Wembley to see what the Three Lions’ younger players could produce.
The answer wasn’t much. Cole Palmer, starting on the right side alongside Harry Kane and Anthony Gordon, was a livewire in the early stages but Iceland were the ones to open the scoring. A sharp move from Hakon Arnar Haraldsson in midfield saw the ball slipped through to Jon Thorsteinsson who cut inside and drilled a low shot through the legs of John Stones to beat second-choice goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale at the near post.
That goal shocked Wembley and England who looked to respond. Harry Kane fired over the bar, Phil Foden slotted an effort wide and Palmer messed up a one-on-one. There was a lack of ruthlessness and creativity in the final third.
Gareth Southgate’s men head to Germany on the back of a defeat which he’ll hope will spur them on to better things come the start of the tournament.
Relive the action below:
England’s flaws on full display as Wembley defeat sours Euro 2024 departure
It was a defeat to Iceland that ended a dismal Euros campaign to essentially start the Gareth Southgate era and… well, you can fill in the rest. The manager must concentrate on filling in the many gaps in this surprisingly callow team before the Euro 2024 first game against Serbia on Sunday week, and maybe a bit more. A strange history was made with the 1-0 defeat to Iceland at Wembley on Friday, that doesn’t necessarily augur that well for the month ahead. England lost the last game before a full tournament for just the second time in their history, and the first since 1954.
That was a famous 7-1 defeat to Hungary, which illustrates just what a different era it was. The very fact that many victorious send-offs since produced some bad tournaments means that little enough should be read into such results, and it’s not like there will be wails of protest in the manner we’ve seen in the past.
There were some boos, though, and they accompany what is a genuine question for Southgate ahead of what is presumed to be his last campaign.
England have commonly been seen as maybe the favourites for Euro 2024 due to the way a deep squad has grown in talent and experience over eight years. Now, just as they’re at the brink, Southgate has stripped away so many of those stalwarts to introduce a lot of relatively untried players who have never played together before.
England’s flaws on full display as Wembley defeat sours Euro 2024 departure
England 0-1 Iceland: The Three Lions were bereft of creativity in a performance that raises questions for Gareth Southgate
FT: England 0-1 Iceland
So, England head to Germany off the back of a 3-0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a 1-0 loss to Iceland.
You can rarely read too much into pre-tournament friendlies, and England still go into Euro 2024 as one of the favourites, but the Three Lions will need some big performances from their important players if they’re to banish any worries against Serbia. You wouldn’t bet against them doing it either.
It all starts on 16 June at 8pm BST! Thanks for following.
Euro 2024: How to follow England and Scotland in Germany this summer – and what to do in each city
If you’re travelling to watch England in Germany this summer, we have a handy guide, whether you are planning a midsummer’s dream trip to support your team or just want to soak up the atmosphere.
Below are the key questions and answers, from basic travel mechanics to tips on travelling around Germany and some of the host cities.
Euro 2024: How to follow England and Scotland in Germany this summer
Some bargain flights are still available – if you are prepared to fly into neighbouring countries
FT: England 0-1 Iceland
Gareth Southgate is the last one to speak to the media. He calls it “a disjointed and disappointing performance”, adding that “we didn’t show enough character, but I think it’s good for us before an international tournament”.
“I think we’ve got to be better without the ball. I think that there were a lot of reasons for that and across the two games we probably haven’t had our full side out across any two games. We’ve been able to look at people, we’ve been able to learn about the balance of the team.
“I’ve been involved in a lot of last matches leading into a tournament. Inevitably players have one eye on what’s coming in terms of early challenges. No excuses on the result but there are a lot of things we can put right quickly.”
FT: England 0-1 Iceland
Declan Rice is next to speak to Channel 4, and he calls the result “not ideal”.
“But there were a lot of positive performances. In the end it becomes a frustration game, you’re chasing your tail a little bit and get caught on the counter-attack. It’s not ideal we lost but there’s a lot of learning curves you can build on as a team.”
“There’s no doubt about our quality on the ball as a collective. Maybe against the teams that sit in it’s about being a bit mentally switched on. I felt at times we were a little stretched, not as compact as we usually are. Between now and the next game there’s work to be done.”
When asked about Kobbie Mainoo’s performance, he says “it was really positive”.
“I can imagine because we’ve lost some people are saying stuff but that’s football these days. We’re going to learn every game we play. Every game is a chance to learn and get better.”
Euro 2024 fixtures: Full tournament schedule, groups, kick-off times and dates
Just over a week now until England begin their Euro 2024 campaign. It begins against Serbia on 16 June, with the tournament having started two days before when hosts Germany face Scotland in Munich.
England then face Denmark and Slovenia in their other group games, before the round of 16 begins on 29 June. If England top their group, they’ll play their first knockout game on 30 June in Gelsenkirchen. The Three Lions’ full fixtures list is as follows:
Sunday 16 June – Serbia vs England, 8pm BST
Thursday 20 June – Denmark vs England, 5pm BST
Tuesday 25 June – England vs Slovenia, 8pm BST
Read below for the full tournament schedule.
Euro 2024 schedule: Full list of matches and day-by-day fixtures
Every group match to be played in Germany and including planned dates for knock-out stages
Here’s the replay of Iceland’s goal, with some great work by Thorsteinsson.
FT: England 0-1 Iceland
Anthony Gordon was first in front of the Channel 4 cameras.
He says that “a bit of a lack of quality in the final third let us down” on the evening.
“It didn’t go the way we wanted but it’s the bigger picture.
“It’s great practice for us, that’s probably how teams are going to play against us, so the more we play against teams like that and learn to break them down the better.”
When asked if he thinks he may have played his way into the starting eleven, he said: “I hope so. That’s the first time I’ve kicked a ball really for four weeks so I just wanted to run to go into the tournament feeling fit and feeling fresh.”
FT: England 0-1 Iceland
So, a famous Wembley win for Iceland to go with their even more famous win against the Three Lions at Euro 2016.
Not a good game for Southgate at all, by any stretch. England were simply disjointed, lacking any sort of cohesion in attack, and were weak in defence when it mattered.
It’ll be different come the opening game on 16 June, when there’s something important on the line, but that was not a performance that will fill any England fan with confidence.
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