It was a decent climb to the top tier of the Allianz Riviera stadium. The first thing that caught your eye eight years ago was the view of the pastel slopes of the Côte d’Azur rising towards a bright blue sky above the stand opposite.
The second thing was the sound. It was new to some of us. The slow, rhythmic applause that came from the large group of Icelandic fans already inside gradually became faster and faster and louder and louder until it reached a crescendo and finally faded away.
It quickly became the soundtrack to a humiliation in England. That day in June 2016, which ended in England’s 2-1 defeat in Nice in the second round of the 2016 European Championship, was one of the lowest moments in the history of our game. Some compared it to the defeat against the United States in Belo Horizonte in the 1950 World Cup.
Eight years later, all those bad memories, all those uncomfortable associations, came flooding back.
Eight years ago, Iceland sent England home from a tournament red-faced with embarrassment. This time, by inflicting another moral defeat on the bookies’ favorite team to win in Germany, they ensured England left at the start of a tournament red-faced with shame.
England suffered a 1-0 defeat to Iceland in their final warm-up ahead of Euro 2024 next week.
Gareth Southgate’s team could not defeat their disciplined visitors at Wembley
The loss brought back painful memories of when the two teams met at Euro 2016.
There are only nine days until England’s opening match in this European Championship, but judging by this performance, it is a shame that England cannot request a delay. They don’t seem prepared.
This was a somber night at Wembley, a night in which much of the optimism engendered by Southgate’s selection of a bright, bold team packed with brilliant and exciting young attacking talent disappeared into the London air with this 1-0 reverse. .
This was a night, decided by a first-half Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson goal, when what was supposed to be a raucous send-off for the team turned into a rather sobering reality check for England’s hopes of winning the European Championship in Germany.
It was a night when home fans rushed for the exits with ten minutes left, leaving swaths of empty red seats in their wake. It was a night where this team of all offensive talent came up empty. It was a match greeted with boos and murmurs at the end.
And it was a night when all fears about England’s threadbare defense became a grim reality. Iceland are ranked 72nd in the world, but there were times here when they tormented England with their superior passing and composure.
This was not a false result. England seemed powerless in attack and vulnerable in defence. The most worrying thing of all is that they seemed strange. They looked like players who had just learned each other’s names, not players who were ready to go into battle.
There are a couple of consolations. The first is that Jude Bellingham didn’t play. He is still recovering from a long season with Real Madrid, capped by winning the Champions League last weekend. England will be better off with him.
The second consolation, of course, is that it was a friendly one. It was a tune-up. It was not like that game in Nice, which marked an end. It would be comforting to say that we shouldn’t make too much of it, but the problems at the rear, in particular, are unlikely to go away.
Former Fulham youngster Jon Thorsteinsson found space to shoot in the opening stages.
The striker fired towards the near post, giving Iceland an unlikely lead in the 12th minute.
Aaron Ramsdale was visibly frustrated after conceding the first goal at Wembley.
England has improved beyond recognition since that night in Nice, but it didn’t feel that way here. They seemed dying and without ideas to move forward. They seemed tired. They seemed in a bad mood.
Despite their difficulties in attack here, this is a team full of goals. The fear is that once their defense faces the top German teams, it could also be full of holes.
With that in mind, England had a huge scare in the first minute when Stones fell awkwardly and Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson landed on the back of his leg. Stones has suffered a number of injuries this season and was sidelined for some time. He was able to continue but did not seem to move freely.
England’s discomfort intensified after 12 minutes. Iceland played the ball out of defense and beat the English press with embarrassing ease. Mainoo was caught too far forward and when the ball went wide towards Thorsteinsson, he cut inside Stones and beat Aaron Ramsdale at his near post.
The stadium fell silent. England tried to find some rhythm and urgency and Rice pressured goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson to clear a ball straight to Palmer, who chested it and hit it towards goal, but it was blocked by Daniel Gretarsson.
The atmosphere inside Wembley was funereal, enlivened only by the occasional applause for the flight of a paper airplane. The helplessness of England and the ease with which Iceland was able to subject them to danger were sobering.
The return of Anthony Gordon was one of the few positives for England in the first half.
But the replacement of John Stones due to injury only added to the malaise ahead of Euro 2024.
England, however, were patient and should have equalized just before the half hour mark. Palmer had been the pick of the England players and he sent a beautifully subtle cross into the box that found an unmarked Harry Kane a few yards away. The crowd was already celebrating but Kane lifted his volley over the bar. Nothing was going well.
The rest of the half became a turgid, exhausting and silent stalemate. The match only ended one minute before half-time, when Iceland almost took the lead. England allowed their opponents to cut the ball off the goal line to Arnor Traustason and only a superb block from Guehi prevented the visitors from doubling their lead.
When the half-time whistle blew, he was greeted with a handful of rather dull boos.
Fears over Stones’ fitness grew when he did not feature in the second half, replaced in central defense by Ezri Konsa, but England at least created a rare moment of threat when Phil Foden and Gordon exchanged passes and Foden dragged in a classy shot. barely wide.
Palmer again demonstrated his quick thinking and sublime technique when he beat a defender to a Kane ball that the England captain fed to him with the outside of his right foot. Palmer tried to shoot inside the near post but found the side netting.
Palmer should have scored a couple of minutes later when a clever ball from Rice played past the keeper. Unusually, Palmer hesitated and instead of shooting, he tried to pass the ball around Valdimarsson again and Valdimarsson stayed on his feet, pushed Palmer out and blocked his shot.
But the best opportunities fell to Iceland. Thorsteinsson should have scored when the ball was right in front of him and only Ramsdale could beat him, but he lost his balance when he was about to connect with the ball and the ball deflected harmlessly.
The hosts squandered the rare occasions when they could create real chances.
Thorsteinsson nearly doubled Iceland’s lead after the break, but slipped when a cross hit him.
A few minutes later, centre-back Sverrir Ingason lost his marker too easily on an Icelandic corner and ran towards the far post. He dealt with the ball well and headed it down, but Ramsdale smothered it with his feet. It was a great escape for Southgate’s team.
The England manager made a series of substitutions and Trent Alexander-Arnold came on at right back and made an immediate impact, launching a delightful ball over the Icelandic defense for Ivan Toney to run onto. Toney was challenged as he tried to catch up, but the referee waved play on.
England had half chances towards the end, but nothing more. It was a friendly one. It doesn’t have to be a major setback, but it does hint at a number of underlying concerns.
