Gareth Southgate’s ambitious plans for his England squad were dashed to pieces here by an opponent ranked 72nd worldwide. Loud jeers greeted them both at half-time and after the final whistle rang out against them.
Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, and Anthony Gordon appeared to form an impressive front four, but they struggled to gain momentum during the England national football team vs Iceland national football team lineups match.
England XI vs Iceland
Gareth Southgate led England to victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina in their inaugural match under their new coach, but it wasn’t exactly impressive. If Gareth wants his side to avoid an embarrassing Euro 2024 debut when they take on Iceland at Wembley Stadium on Friday night, significant improvement must occur immediately.
Iceland will look to avoid repeating their disgraceful exit in the last 16 at 2016 European Championship and will enter this game as underdogs; victory would likely ensure they remain in play-off contention. They are without top scorers Gudmundsson and Finnbogason and must therefore aim to keep a respectable scoreline during this game.
England got off to a slow start against Bosnia and Herzegovina at Wembley but picked up momentum during the second half. England must show greater consistency between halves if they wish to progress beyond group stage of this tournament and this match offers multiple players an opportunity to show their worth.
Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker will continue in their respective positions on defence, while Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka may come into the side on the left wing – they play alongside one another at Newcastle and could support Cole Palmer or Phil Foden during an attack.
Declan Rice, Harry Kane and Trent Alexander-Arnold should all retain their starting spots against Spain. Phil Foden looks in better form after impressing against Bosnia and Herzegovina; Manchester City midfielder may even partner Harry Kane centrally alongside Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson for another impressive display on Saturday.
England are only currently facing one injury uncertainty with central defender Harry Maguire due to an ongoing knee issue, though all other members are fit and ready to compete at Euro 2016. Gareth Southgate hopes his decision to replace James Maddison and Jack Grealish with younger talent pays off, and finalise their 26-man squad by Friday’s official deadline.
England XI vs Bosnia
Gareth Southgate will expect his side to significantly improve at Wembley against Bosnia after numerous notable players return. Gareth Southgate anticipates his Three Lions will bolster their ranks before beginning Euro 2024 against Serbia on Friday.
Eberechi Eze is set to make his first start for England today as he attempts to impress Southgate before being named in his Euro 2024 squad. As a Crystal Palace winger, Eze will provide an effective outlet on the right flank while being capable of playing more advanced roles if required.
Manchester United defender Luke Shaw has been forced out of Sunday’s match due to a hamstring injury, with hopes that he can make a rapid comeback for next week’s encounter against reigning European champions Italy. Kieran Trippier from Newcastle will step in as his replacement at left-back.
Southgate will likely hand debuts to Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold and Manchester City midfielder Cole Palmer, both of whom impressed against Bosnia on Monday and stand a good chance of making the final 26-man group.
With both Harry Maguire and John Stones injured, Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Eric Dier could make his debut as right back; Chelsea defender Gary Cahill could serve as backup at centre back.
England’s forward options have been strengthened with Harry Kane’s return, who scored from off the bench against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck may join him to form an attacking trio further enhanced by Everton’s Romelu Lukaku joining them.
Iceland’s top scorers Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Alfred Finnbogason won’t feature, with Brentford goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson set to earn his 10th cap – as an ex-Real Madrid youth, Valdimarsson is highly-rated player who has attracted interest from clubs including Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus.
England XI vs Serbia
England aim to turn around their disappointing 1-0 defeat against Iceland with an emphatic performance against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen. Gareth Southgate will make several adjustments from his starting eleven against Bosnia and Herzegovina; John Stones could return from illness alongside Marc Guehi as centre-backs.
Trent Alexander-Arnold will also step in for Lewis Dunk as Manchester United left-back continues his recovery from hamstring strain, while Arsenal goalkeeper Jordan Pickford will make way for Manchester City counterpart Ederson.
England were guilty of some poor defensive decisions during their loss to non-qualifiers Sweden at Wembley Stadium. Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson’s first-half strike was enough for Scandinavia to secure victory, whereas their attacking options were limited and Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer missed opportunities to even the scores as Southgate struggled to create anything going forward.
England suffered an unexpected defeat, but their squad has plenty of quality to make up for it with a full strength team. Luke Shaw will miss out this time due to an ongoing hamstring issue; he should return for their group match against Russia on June 14. Southgate decided to give Luke Shaw another chance by keeping him in camp rather than cutting him from his final 23-man squad list.
Gareth Southgate has also been given a boost by Ander Herrera’s return from injury, Everton midfielder Ross Barkley and West Brom striker Jay Rodriguez being available – however West Ham midfielder Joe Hart will miss out due to an ankle issue.
Serbia will hope that Aleksandar Mitrovic, their top scorer from qualifying matches, returns from knee injury to play against England. Additionally, Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic and AC Milan’s Luka Jovic provide numerous threats in attack for Serbia; their host will hope that these trio can provide a cutting edge that helps break down England’s defence.
England XI vs Croatia
Gareth Southgate and England face unfamiliar waters as they face off against Croatia, who knocked them out of the 2018 World Cup at Wembley Stadium. It could be an especially special moment for young players who were born when England last faced Croatia at this same stage 28 years ago.
Southgate does not face any major injury concerns and therefore expect an almost unchanged England starting XI from their World Cup quarter-final victory over Sweden. Jordan Pickford will continue as goalkeeper while Kyle Walker, John Stones and Harry Maguire form an excellent back four alongside Kieran Trippier who can serve as right and left back cover respectively.
Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard will reunited as midfielders, following Alli’s outstanding form for club side Fulham this season and becoming an essential component of England. Everton forward Romelu Lukaku will join them up front despite not scoring since November.
Trippier will have to defend against Ivan Rakitic and Dejan Lovren while Joe Gomez should provide additional depth at central defensive position.
The match begins at 14:00 local time (BST) and will be broadcast live across four television networks: BBC One in the UK, ESPN in the USA, SuperSport in South Africa and Cuatro in Spain. Fans who wish to view it online may do so through fuboTV which offers new users a seven-day free trial period.
Subscribers to NBC Sports can stream the game on iOS, Android, Chromecast, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices as well as web browsers – as well as through BBC iPlayer for those residing in the UK.
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