England suffered a 1-0 defeat to Iceland in their final game before the start of their Euro 2024 campaign while John Stones has added to Gareth Southgate’s injury concerns.
Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson silenced Wembley with his winning goal in the 12th minute as he fired low past Aaron Ramsdale. However, the bigger worry for England will be the fact that Iceland were able to easily cut through their entire team with just six passes from the goalkeeper before Thorsteinsson finished off the move.
Southgate’s biggest wish would have been for all of his players to emerge unscathed from their final warm-up fixture before the start of England’s Euro 2024 campaign agaginst Serbia on June 16, but he will now be waiting to find out the extent of Stones’ injury after the Manchester City centre-back was forced off at half time.
Thorsteinsson landed awkwardly on Stones’ ankle during a challenge in the second minute but the City defender stayed on the pitch before being placed by Ezri Konsa at the break.
England spurned plenty of chances to equalise, the best of which fell to Harry Kane from Cole Palmer’s excellent cross in the 29th minute, but the Three Lions captain connected with his shin and the ball flew over the bar from six yards out.
Newcastle United’s Antony Gordon enjoyed a lively first half on England’s left wing but Southgate’s side struggled to break down a well-organised and compact Iceland back line.
‘I think England have to keep the width,’ former England captain Wayne Rooney said during his half-time an analysis.
‘Anthony Gordon has done really well in doing that on one side but Cole Palmer is coming in a lot and it is very congested in that No 10 area.
‘I think someone, whether it’s Palmer or Kyle Walker, has to keep the width on the right to try and spread their backline to create more space in the middle of the pitch.’
England continued to press for the equaliser after the break but Iceland missed an excellent opportunity to double their lead as Thorsteinsson was picked out by Hakon Arnar Haraldsson’s cross but slipped at the vital moment.
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