England are all set to host Iceland at the iconic Wembley Stadium for their final warm-up fixture ahead of Euro 2024 in Germany.
Gareth Southgate will soon be trimming the 33-player provisional squad into his final 26-man squad for the Euro. But, before that, England have one final friendly fixture remaining against Iceland. The visitors have not been in action since March when their dreams of making it to the continental tournament were ended by Ukraine.
England were on a three-match winless run before registering a 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday. It was not really their best performance, but they did get the job done thanks to three second-half goals.
This game against Iceland will be the final opportunity for players to impress Southgate as he will have to announce the final squad just hours after the end of this fixture. The home team will look to build on their win last time out. They will look to create momentum heading into the Euro, where they will kick start the campaign against Serbia on 17th June.
Meanwhile, Iceland missed out on a chance to make it to UEFA Euro 2024. While they failed to finish in the top two of their qualifier group, they had the opportunity to make it to the finals via the playoff route. They got past Israel 4-1 in their Path B semi-final. But, Iceland ended up suffering at the hands of Ukraine who came from a goal behind to seal a 2-1 win and book their place in the tournament.
Iceland have not been in action since that defeat, and they will be eager to bounce back when they take the field against England. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could put to use.
Team News & Tactics
England
Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, and Anthony Gordon are still not a hundred per cent, and they might not be involved in this fixture. While Gordon and Maguire will surely be a part of the final 26-man squad, Shaw’s involvement will depend on his fitness.
Meanwhile, Gareth Southgate will have a massive boost as quite a few of his regulars who were rested last time out will be available for selection in this fixture. England will go ahead with the 4-2-3-1 formation with Jordan Pickford in goal. Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier should be the full-backs with John Stones and Marc Guehi in the heart of the defence.
Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold will form the double pivot alongside Declan Rice in the centre of the park. Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden are expected to take charge on the flanks. They will look to provide width to their attacks. Jude Bellingham is expected to be the attacking midfielder behind star striker Harry Kane who will be leading the line.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi, Trippier; Alexander-Arnold, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Foden; Kane
Iceland
Albert Gudmundsson, who has attracted a lot of interest following his impressive performances at Genoa, is not a part of the Iceland squad for this round of fixtures. In addition, Alfred Finnbogason is unavailable. The visitors are expected to go ahead with the 4-4-2 formation where Hákon Valdimarsson will be in goal.
Alfons Sampsted and Gudmundur Thorarinsson should be the full-backs for Iceland, while Sverrir Ingi Ingason and Daníel Leo Gretarsson should feature in the heart of the defence. Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson and Hakon Arnar Haraldsson will feature out wide on the flanks.
They will look to support the full-backs and also provide width to their attacks. Meanwhile, Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Arnor Ingvi Traustason will feature in a more central role. They will look to control the tempo of the game. Andri Gudjohnsen and Orri Oskarsson will be the two forwards for the visitors.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Valdimarsson; Sampsted, Ingason, Gretarsson, Thorarinsson; Thorsteinsson, Gudmundsson, Traustason, Haraldsson; Gudjohnsen, Oskarsson
Key Stats
- Iceland were on a three-match winning run before their dreams of making it to the Euros came crashing down with a 2-1 loss to Ukraine back in March.
- Before securing the 3-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday, England were on a three-match winless run.
- In the 2016 Euro, Iceland scripted history with a 2-1 win over Three Lions.
- England have scored 22 goals in their last eight outings.
- In the last five meetings between the two teams, England have won three while Iceland have a win to their name.
Player to Watch
Jude Bellingham
Bellingham has had a dream debut season at Real Madrid, and he will be hoping to carry on in similar fashion when he walks out onto that field for his national team. He contributed towards 36 goals for Los Blancos in the 2023/24 season and helped them win the UEFA Champions League and La Liga. Now, he will be aiming to lift the Euro 2024 but before that, he will be eager to put up a strong performance against Iceland at home.
Prediction
England 4-0 Iceland
While Iceland do have some quality players in their ranks, they might end up short of ideas against a star-studded English team. Gareth Southgate’s team were not at their best in their last outing, and they still won 3-0 in the end. They will be hoping for an improved performance and with a few of their stars back in the mix. The Hard Tackle predicts an easy 4-0 win for the home team.
