England Beaten by Iceland in Final Euro 2024 Tune-Up

England concluded their preparations for Euro 2024 with a disappointing performance, losing to Iceland at Wembley. Manager Gareth Southgate made several changes following the win against Bosnia-Herzegovina, but he felt deeply disappointed with the sluggish display. Iceland, who famously defeated England at Euro 2016, capitalized on poor defending and a questionable performance from keeper Aaron Ramsdale, who replaced Jordan Pickford. Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson scored the only goal after 12 minutes.

Harry Kane missed a great chance while Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, one of the few bright spots, also had opportunities. However, Southgate’s team looked rusty ahead of their opening Euro 2024 match against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on 16 June. Defensively, England appeared vulnerable with Iceland threatening to extend their lead. Key defender John Stones took a heavy knock early on and Southgate substituted him at half-time, adding to his concerns with regular defensive partner Harry Maguire already ruled out of the tournament due to injury.

Southgate intended this to be a celebratory send-off for his squad, but the plan failed miserably. The 72nd-ranked team in the FIFA rankings drew loud jeers at half-time and full-time, reflecting the poor performance. Southgate searched for positive clues to his starting line-up but yielded few results. Palmer showed promise despite missing second-half chances and Anthony Gordon impressed sporadically. However, Phil Foden struggled in the number 10 role and England rarely put the Icelandic goal under pressure, managing just one shot on target.

Iceland had opportunities to add to England’s misery in the second half but failed to capitalize. Southgate intended this match for preparation and squad assessment, but losing to a lower-ranked team especially at Wembley, always raises concerns. Iceland might even be starting to see themselves as England’s bogey team after their Euro 2016 triumph. After the match, England’s players took a lap of appreciation, but the sparse crowd reflected the underwhelming performance.

Southgate hopes this game helped remove some rust, but it hardly inspires confidence ahead of Euro 2024.