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It ended England 0 Iceland 1 at Wembley, Gareth Southgate left looking a bit stunned.
Not exactly the ideal final warm up match ahead of the Euros.
Both Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier started at Wembley in this final warm-up game ahead of the Euros. England stunned when Porsteinsson scored on the break in the 12th minute, both Stones and Ramsdale at fault for the goal.
England huffed and puffed and had plenty of possession but against a packed defence struggled to create a lot of clear chances. Kane missed an open goal from six yards out and Palmer could/should have done better with chances for himself. A night when England’s supposed stellar names/players, the likes of Foden, Rice and Kane were poor.
Trippier and Gordon lined up on the left and the defender had a decent match, whilst Anthony Gordon wasn’t one of the weakest in the attacking half, linked up well with Palmer at times in the first half. The Newcastle United pair were subbed with 25 minutes to go.
I thought this match was little different to many previous England games I have seen and indeed international football in general.
At St James’ Park on Monday, England were very similar, a lot of the ball but a packed Bosnia defence making it difficult. That night though they were gifted a penalty after an hour and then scored a couple of late goals to make the result look a lot better than the performance had been.
As for the idea that all England games should be played at Wembley… the atmosphere was atrocious. The only time we heard them was when booing the team and result.
Only eight days now until the proper stuff starts, England up against Serbia in their opening group game.
Gareth Southgate after the 1-0 defeat to Iceland:
“It was obviously a disjointed and disappointing performance and we didn’t show enough character but I think it’s good for us before an international tournament.
“We’ve got to be better without the ball.
“I think there were a lot of reasons for that and across the two games we probably haven’t had our full side out.
“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.”
Final score:
England 0 Iceland 1
England team v Iceland:
Ramsdale, Walker (Alexander-Arnold 64), Trippier (Gomez 64), Rice, Stones (Konsa 46), Guehi, Palmer (Eze 77), Mainoo, Kane (Toney 64), Foden, Gordon (Saka 65)
The schedule of Newcastle United players on international duty:
Monday 3 June
England 3 Bosnia & Herzegovina 0 (Friendly)
Kieran Trippier was captain and put in a good performance at left-back at St James’ Park. One of five England players subbed just after the hour mark, Trippier a certainty for the plane to Germany. Southgate resting Anthony Gordon to ensure no lingering issues from his ankle injury, the manager hoping to play the NUFC winger on Friday against Iceland.
Tuesday 4 June
Switzerland 4 Estonia 0 (Friendly)
Fabian Schar with a perfect warm up match for the European Championships. Playing on the right of a back three with Akanji and Elvedi, they restricted the opposition to just three efforts on target in this commanding win.
Wednesday 5 June
Denmark 2 Sweden 1 (Friendly)
Emil Krafth played the full 90 minutes and had a decent game at right-back. Whilst playing through the middle, Alexander Isak produced a very good left foot finish after making space for himself with a right foot touch. That ninth minute goal equalised an early Denmark goal but Eriksen won it with four minutes to go with a sweet strike from outside the box for the hosts. By that time Isak had been subbed with twenty minutes to go.
Slovakia 4 San Marino 0 (Friendly)
An easy win for Slovakia which Newcastle’s Martin Dubravka watched from the bench.
Friday 7 June
England 0 Iceland 1 (Friendly)
Both Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier started at Wembley in this final warm-up game ahead of the Euros. England stunned when Porsteinsson scored on the break in the 12th minute, both Stones and Ramsdale at fault for the goal.
England huffed and puffed and had plenty of possession but against a packed defence struggled to create a lot of clear chances. Kane missed an open goal from six yards out and Palmer could/should have done better with chances for himself. A night when England’s supposed stellar names/players, the likes of Foden, Rice and Kane were poor.
Trippier and Gordon lined up on the left and the defender had a decent match, whilst Anthony Gordon wasn’t one of the weakest in the attacking half, linked up well with Palmer at times in the first half. The Newcastle United pair were subbed with 25 minutes to go.
Saturday 8 June
Gambia v Seychelles (Yankuba Minteh) World Cup group qualifier
Sweden v Serbia (Emil Krafth and Alexander Isak) Friendly
Switzerland v Austria (Fabian Schar) Friendly
Spain v Northern Ireland (Jamal Lewis) Friendly
Mexico v Brazil (Bruno Guimaraes) Friendly
Peru v Paraguay (Miguel Almiron) Friendly
Sunday 9 June
Slovakia v Wales (Martin Dubravka) Friendly
Tuesday 11 June
Gabon v Gambia (Yankuba Minteh) World Cup group qualifier
Andorra v Northern Ireland (Jamal Lewis) Friendly
Wednesday 12 June
USA v Brazil (Bruno Guimaraes) Friendly
Chile v Paraguay (Miguel Almiron) Friendly
Sunday 16 June
England v Serbia (Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier) Euros Group match
Panama v Paraguay (Miguel Almiron) Copa America Group match
Monday 17 June
Slovakia v Belgium (Martin Dubravka) Euros Group match
Thursday 20 June
England v Denmark (Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier) Euros Group match
Friday 21 June
Slovakia v Ukraine (Martin Dubravka) Euros Group match
Monday 24 June
Costa Rica v Brazil (Bruno Guimaraes) Copa America Group match
Colombia v Paraguay (Miguel Almiron) Copa America Group match
Tuesday 25 June
England v Slovenia (Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier) Euros Group match
Wednesday 26 June
Slovakia v Romania (Martin Dubravka) Euros Group match
Friday 28 June
Paraguay v Brazil (Bruno Guimaraes and Miguel Almiron) Copa America Group match
Tuesday 2 July
Colombia v Brazil (Bruno Guimaraes) Copa America Group match
There will of course be more matches, if Newcastle United players see their nations get through the group stages of the Copa America and/or the European Championships.

 
