Southgate promises England will learn from Iceland loss

Gareth Southgate has pledged England will learn from Friday’s shock 1-0 defeat to Iceland ahead of their Euro 2024 campaign starting next week.

England’s Wembley Stadium send-off fell flat as they produced a disjointed performance against a stubborn Iceland side, with Jon Thorsteinsson’s low strike the difference.

Despite Southgate picking a strong starting lineup featuring Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, the Three Lions managed just one shot on target and only recorded 0.89 expected goals (xG) from 13 total attempts.

It is the first time they have lost their final game prior to an international tournament since Euro 1968, having won 15 and drawn five of their previous 20 such matches.

While Southgate was in no mood to excuse England’s below-par performance, he is sure their issues will be solved before they face Serbia in Gelsenkirchen in nine days’ time.

“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,” Southgate told Channel 4.

1 – England had just one shot on target against Iceland (Phil Foden, 21st minute), their fewest in a game since June 2021 versus Scotland (also one). Halted. pic.twitter.com/hoLYEDjX4Z

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 7, 2024

“I think 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. There are no excuses on the result but there are a lot of things we can put right quickly.”

England have now conceded first in each of their last three games at Wembley – against Brazil and Belgium in March and versus Iceland on Friday.

It is the first time they have conceded first in three successive matches at the national stadium since doing so between October 1953 and November 1954 – a run which included an infamous 6-3 defeat to Hungary in November 1953.

1 – England have lost their final match before a major international tournament for the first time since 1968, when they went down 1-0 against Germany in their last match before EURO 1968. Unexpected. pic.twitter.com/PXl30yW5EX

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 7, 2024