In this article, we will discuss the main points of England National Football Team vs Iceland National Football Team Lineups.
Gareth Southgate will be hoping that his side can use their final warm-up fixture against Iceland at Wembley to turn their fortunes around following their surprise defeat at Euro 2016 conquerors four days prior.
Iceland made an early statement as Sigthorsson shot wide from a corner and Ingason was booked for deliberately taking down Guehi.
England Lineup
Gareth Southgate will lead his first home match as England manager against an opponent they have never defeated – Iceland, who gave them their only loss at Euro 2016. England are gearing up for their European Championship appearance later this summer and could present many obstacles, with Iceland in particular providing one.
Southgate’s squad for their Vikings match-up features several newcomers; Manchester City pair John Stones and Anthony Gordon make their returns after missing September internationals due to injury, while Newcastle defender Nick Pope is being replaced with Southampton defender Jordan Harwood-Bellis from Newcastle defender Nick Pope is replaced with Southampton’s Jordan Harwood-Bellis; Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Tottenham’s Eberechi Eze have been dropped in favour of younger attacking options like Cole Palmer and Kobbie Mainoo.
Ivan Toney will likely return off the bench, having played all 90 minutes against Bosnia. Southgate is aware of his need to closely monitor players such as Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon who sustained minor injuries in that game.
Southgate will make his final selection decision today regarding who should start up front, with Jordan Henderson, Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Firmino from Liverpool likely being his choice. England’s recent performance against Bosnia and Herzegovina was encouraging but their performances seemed somewhat subpar throughout, with Harry Kane missing some good opportunities at times during that matchup.
In October’s 1-0 victory against Kosovo was an encouraging sign, and I would love to see England back at their best when taking on Iceland. They should possess enough quality and power to exploit Iceland’s inability to retain possession for extended periods and score goals against them.
Iceland’s performance against Norway in their 2-1 loss was promising; however, more consistency and urgency will be necessary if they want to compete for a spot in the latter stages of this tournament. Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson scored Iceland’s goal during an impressive team move down the left flank, finishing it off with an exquisite shot that rippled off its trajectory before leaving defenders stranded at goal.
Iceland Lineup
Iceland can present some challenges in international friendly matches, though they won’t be able to match England at Wembley Stadium. Gareth Southgate made seven changes in his squad for this match and hopefully this will give some players their first taste of international football.
England struggled to create clear-cut chances in an initially tight and cagey opening period. But then, with Hakon Arnar Haraldsson’s neat pass to Jon Thorsteinsson who burst through into the area before firing low past second-choice goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale for England to take an early lead.
The rest of the match was an tense affair as neither team looked comfortable in their final third. England did have some chances to score before half time but failed to take them, leaving both sides tied at 1-1 at that stage of proceedings.
Rematch of Euro 2016 in the quarter-finals was widely anticipated when this fixture was confirmed and both teams will be looking forward to showing how well they perform against one another. Unfortunately for both sides however, key players for their respective sides have been absent due to injury; with Tottenham Hotspur’s Orri Steinn Oskarsson and Willum Por Willumsson being sidelined due to illness.
Iceland will have to do without some of their top attackers for this match, which could prove costly as they look to start off their Euro 2024 campaign in June with momentum. Loss of Genoa striker Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Brentford forward Alfred Finnbogason could prove especially costly.
Iceland has had great success playing friendlies, and their win against the United States last month was yet another impressive accomplishment. They will look to continue this winning streak when they travel to Wembley Stadium on Friday.
Kickoff Time
Even with some injuries lingering, Iceland women’s national football team still has an outstanding chance to qualify for the 2023 World Cup. As reigning champions, they have made a stellar start in UEFA Nations League Group B with four wins and two draws; but need to beat Wales on final match day to avoid relegation.
Interim manager Lee Carsley will make some alterations from the team that defeated Greece 3-0 in Athens, including swapping Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa for Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane, who was left out. Arsenal defenders Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were also not selected while Manchester City duo Phil Foden and Jack Grealish are expected to retain their spots; Liverpool Curtis Jones will make his first Three Lions appearance.
With Thomas Tuchel taking over as England manager permanently next year, Carsley will be keen to secure a positive result at Austin Stadium next month. Since replacing Gareth Southgate earlier this year, he has already secured two comfortable victories against Ireland and Finland with comfortable 2-0 victories under his guidance.
However, the game against USA will prove challenging. They currently sit second in Nations League standings with nine wins and five draws; their only defeat was against Norway at ADO Den Haag Stadium back in October with a narrow 2-1 defeat.
Iceland boasts greater depth than their American counterparts, boasting star players like Heidar Helgason as well as several talented youngsters. Furthermore, playing in their home country should give Iceland an advantage that it didn’t enjoy against Turkey which saw them go down 2-1 at the final whistle; therefore they’ll likely rely on experience and superiority in the final third to achieve victory this time around.
Streaming
Gareth Southgate and his Three Lions squad will hope to regain momentum in their bid to qualify for the 2024 World Cup when they face Iceland at Wembley on Friday evening. England were underdogs against Ukraine in their Nations League opening match; Iceland have gone seven internationals without being defeated and will look to continue this streak when visiting England on Friday evening.
The game will air live and streamed online via Channel 4, with commentary provided by Alan Shearer, Phil Neville and Ian Wright. England have won two out of their last three tournament games but have struggled to score goals recently; a victory against Iceland could help close the gap on Group 2 leaders Ireland while taking one step closer towards qualifying for playoffs.
England were unable to break through Iceland’s solid defence in their 1-0 loss at Wembley despite strong performances by Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harry Kane despite dominating early proceedings but were punished by Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson’s first-half goal.
Southgate was left reeling following Ivan Toney’s late penalty miss and made numerous adjustments to his team in response. These included Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer being unavailable, along with Jack Grealish from Aston Villa and Trent Alexander-Arnold from Manchester United being missing altogether.
Liverpool defender Luke Shaw and Fulham goalkeeper Lewis Dunk were called up to replace those two players, as was Bristol City defender Eberechi Eze for his senior debut at Wembley alongside Arsenal midfielder Joe Hart who has not played since December’s 4-0 loss at Crystal Palace. England players will wear special commemorative kits in memory of victims from recent terror attacks in London and Manchester; this marks the first time an England squad has worn such clothing.
