Some player ratings ...
Barney Ronay on Foden ...
That’s it for tonight’s blog. I’ll leave you with Dave Hytner’s match report. Thanks for your company - goodnight!
Here’s Raheem Sterling
“It was strange and we knew it would be difficult, but there’s no better way to improve your fitness than playing matches. We got through it in the end. We didn’t expect the red card – it happened, and we kept playing our football and trying to create chances. We got the penalty in the end. We shouldn’t have conceded the sloppy penalty after that but we got the luck.”
Raheem Sterling’s last-minute penalty gave England a victory they deserved for their possession, if not their penetration, though they needed Birkir Bjarnason to endanger low-flying aircraft with an even later penalty.
It was an odd game, both a good and bad advert for VAR. Good because both penalties were iffy, and Harry Kane had an early goal wrongly disallowed for offside; bad because the existence of VAR is the reason so many referees have lost confidence in their decision-making.
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Full time: Iceland 0-1 England
Football is a peculiar old pastime.
90+3 min Bjarnason tried to curl it into the top-right corner but got too much on it and it went over the top.
BJARNASON MISSES THE PENALTY!
He’s curled it over the bar!
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This is absurd. A long ball was lumped forward, straight from the kick-off I think, and Gomez was penalised for holding Gudmundsson just inside the area. That looked pretty soft as well.
PENALTY TO ICELAND!!!
It wasn’t a great penalty, rolled gently down the middle. Halldorsson dived to his left and couldn’t save it with his feet. We’ve only seen one replay but I’m not sure it was a penalty. Ingason threw himself at Sterling’s shot, John Terry-style, but it looked like his arm was tight to his chest.
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GOAL! Iceland 0-1 England (Sterling 90 pen)
Sterling scores!
INGASON IS SENT OFF!
Alexander-Arnold’s corner cleared everyone and reached Sterling beyond the far post. His shot flew wide off Ingason, and England immediately appealed for handball. The referee gave it and then showed Ingason a second yellow.
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PENALTY TO ENGLAND!
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87 min “I really admire Iceland,” says Mary Waltz. “They know who they are. Granted, it doesn’t provide for the most exciting football but they recognise the talent gap between the two squads and they won’t be lured into changing their tactics. Their goal was snagging a point and because of Walker’s boneheaded play they just might get it.”
I think they would have done anyway, to be honest. England haven’t really looked like scoring all night.
86 min Alexander-Arnold’s corner is headed clear at the far post.
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85 min Greenwood’s first contribution is a good one. He receives a crossfield pass, beats Magnusson with a familiar stepover and drives a cross that is put behind for a corner.
83 min Iceland have defended brilliantly. I can only remember three England chances in the whole match, and two of those were from workaday crosses.
80 min “The plucky English lads might be playing one man down, but remind me: isn’t this a country of 50 million plus battling against one with the population of Sunderland?” says Geoff Wignall. “The extra man seems only fair.”
This is a great way to spice up international football. Brazil v the Faroe Islands would have a whole new lease of life.
79 min England are now playing with Sterling on the left, Ings in the centre and Greenwood on the right.
78 min Mason Greenwood comes on to make his England debut, replacing Harry Kane.
78 min The pattern of the game hasn’t changed since the red card. England are still pushing for a winner; Iceland are happy with 0-0, and anything more would be a bonus.
76 min Alexander-Arnold’s wicked corner from the left is flicked on at the near post and sliced clear desperately by an Iceland defender in the six-yard box.
76 min Another Iceland substitution. Emil Hallfredsson replaces Traustason.
73 min Trent Alexander-Arnold replaces Jadon Sancho, who started brightly but faded in the second half. That means England will play a 4-2-3 formation, with Ings on the left and Sterling on the right.
72 min Ward-Prowse has moved to right-back for the time being, which means Declan Rice is a one-man midfield.
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KYLE WALKER IS SENT OFF!
70 min England are down to ten men. Walker, who was booked in the first half, lunged at Traustason with excess zeal and was given a second yellow card. It’s hard to argue with that decision.
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69 min “I’m fairly certain Bill McLaren commentated on his son-in-law scoring a try for Scotland,” says Simon Ly. “And as expected of the great man, he did a hugely professional job.”
68 min Ings replaces Phil Foden, which suggests a switch to 4-4-2/4-2-4. Foden had a tidy debut, no more or less.
67 min Good story department: Danny Ings is about to come on for his second England cap, and his first since 2015.
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66 min An Iceland change: Arnor Sigurdsson replaces Porsteinsson.
64 min Trippier’s inswinging free-kick from the left skims off the head of Arnason and drifts just wide of the far post. That’s the closest England have come since Kane’s disallowed goal in the sixth minute.
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62 min A muscle-busting overhead kick from Kane hits Ingason in the chin; I don’t think it was going in anyway.
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62 min Joe Gomez has quietly had an excellent game, dealing expertly with any Iceland counter-attacks.
60 min As in the first half, England are slowly having the life sucked out of them by Iceland’s defence. This is turning into a decent test for England, especially as they scored goals by the bucketload in 2019.
58 min Rice drives a crossfield pass to Ward-Prowse, who cushions it back to Sancho on the edge of the area. His first-time cross-shot is booted clear by Arnason.
55 min Gomez gives away a silly foul, shoving Magnusson over on the left wing. As with all Iceland’s set-pieces so far, it’s cleared by Kane at the near post.
54 min “Charles Antaki is right - Scandinavia’ is tricky,” says Bob O’Hara. “Whilst Oulu might think it’s in Scandinavia, I lived in Helsinki for 12 years, and they think they’re not - they talk about Fenno-Scandinavia. Now I live in central Norway, which is so Scandinavian it’s on the Scandinavian peninsular. P.S. if in doubt, talk about the Nordic countries. Although I’m not sure if that includes the Baltic states.”
53 min “Ian Wright summarised for games with Shaun Wright-Phillips didn’t he?” writes Mr B.
He was certainly in the studio for some (and also berated Sven for not picking him a few times from memory), though I was thinking more of a lead commentator.
51 min England’s tempo has been better since half-time, though they are still struggling to get behind the Iceland defence.
47 min Kane slides a good pass down the inside-left channel to Sterling, who is well challenged by Hermannsson. Corner to England. Ward-Prowse’s inswinger bounces past everyone at the near post and is headed away.
47 min “Probably not quite what you were after,” says Habib Butt, “but I’m fairly certain David Lloyd has commentated on T20 matches his son Graham has been umpiring.”
46 min Peep peep! England begin the second half. No substitutions on either side.
“Iceland’s no. 11, Albert Gudmundsson, is the son of Iceland’s top football commentator, Gudmundur Benediktsson, who is currently commentating the game in TV now,” writes Guðmundur Björn Þorbjörnsson. “Repeatedly refers to him by his full name, instead of ‘my beloved baby boy’, for professional reasons. Iceland in a nutshell. How does this work in real countries? Would Jadon Sancho’s dad be barred from doing the commentary on national TV?”
That’s an interesting question. I’m struggling to think of any examples, at least in this country.
There’s been plenty of other football today. Read all about it over a half-time cuppa
Half time: Iceland 0-0 England
Peep peep! England were bright and relaxed at the start of the game; they ended the half looking impatient and frustrated. In other words, it’s going to plan for Iceland. Aside from Harry Kane’s early goal, which was wrongly disallowed for offside, England have struggled to create chances.
42 min Ingason is booked for a foul on Kane.
41 min Trippier’s dangerous inswinging cross is miscontrolled by Ward-Prowse, who was just ahead of the ball as it bounced up at him.
38 min Apart from wrongly disallowed Kane goal, England have struggled to create chances. Sancho has looked sharp; the rest have been okay. This might be a job for Mason Greenwood.
36 min “‘Scandinavia’ is tricky,” says Charles Antaki. “The Swedish, Norwegian and Danish people I know pooh-pooh the idea that Finland is Scandinavian, but when I flew to Oulu in northern Finland, there was a giant sign in Arrivals proclaiming the place to be ‘Capital of Northern Scandinavia’.”
So what about Orkney?
35 min England are starting to get frustrated with Iceland’s defensive excellence.
34 min Traustason curls the free-kick over the wall and wide of the near post. It was well wide in the end.
33 min Gudmundsson is fouled just outside the area by Walker, who is booked. The free-kick is a fair way to the left of centre, but still a shooting opportunity.
31 min Iceland have their first chance for a long throw. Magnusson launches it in from the right and Kane heads clear at the near post.
29 min Sterling cuts inside from the left and scuffs a low, long-range shot that is easily saved by Halldorsson.
27 min “This is not the most important email you’re going to get about the Iceland/England match, but someone has to be the pedant,” says Alasdair Murray. “Regarding the preamble, ‘England start with two matches in Scandinavia’ - Iceland is not in Scandinavia. Not according to Swedes, Danes and Norwegians, anyway...”
Ach, I did it again. Apologies.
26 min Phil Foden has been tidy so far, with one or two classy touches. There hasn’t been much space, though, with Iceland defending very deep.
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23 min Gareth Southgate talked about patience before the game and it’s almost as if he knows what he’s talking about. That’s exactly what England need now, because it’s around this stage of the game that a less mature side would start to get frustrated by the lack of clear chances.
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21 min Iceland, who are such a threat at set pieces, win their first corner. It’s a harmless one this time, headed away at the near post by Kane.
20 min “Nothing came of it but what was Pickford thinking!” says Mary Waltz of that near chance in the 15th minute. “He sorta came out for the ball, he kinda stayed back, so he didn’t get the ball but left the goal unprotected. He is an ulcer-making goalie at times.”
In his defence, he had to come originally to anticipate the ball going past Gomez, and then it’s a split-second decision as to whether you keep going or retreat. I agree with you generally, though, and I’ll be surprised if he’s still England’s keeper come Euro 2021.
17 min Sancho beats Magnusson with elegant ease on the right of the area and slides the ball back to Rice, who completely misses his kick at the near post. That was a great chance.
15 min An excellent ball in behind by Gudmundsson is crucially intercepted by the stretching Gomez. Bodvarsson picks up the loose ball on the right side of the area, with Pickford out of his goal. He tries to slide it back to Porsteinsson, but it’s slightly overhit and Rice eases Porsteinsson off the ball.
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12 min Ward-Prowse plays a neat give-and-go with Foden but his cutback is deflected through to the keeper. England look relaxed and confident on the ball. And why not?
10 min It’s all England, as we expected. Iceland won’t mind that; they are happy picking their moments to press and counter.
6 min: Kane has a goal disallowed for offside! There’s no VAR so the decision is final - and it was the wrong decision. Sterling’s inswinging cross from the left beat everyone in the centre and was slid in from close range by Kane at the far post. Replays suggest he was onside when the cross came in.
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5 min “Apropos your preamble of Euro 2016 starting the rebirth of the England squad, Southgate has only retained four of England’s XI from that match (Kane, Sterling, Walker, Dier),” says Yuval Weber. “And looking at the substitutes, not sure who beyond J. Henderson and Rashford would be in the team today.”
John Stones? I’m not sure where he’s at with England these days.
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4 min Lots of England possession in the first few minutes. Kane has a speculative pop from 20 yards; it’s well hit but comfortably saved by Halldorsson.
2 min “While most of the Nations League coverage in America has been relegated to cable and the Spanish language stations, this fixture has been promoted to ABC’s national broadcast,” says Mary Waltz. “For football fans on this side of the Atlantic this is a big deal.”
1 min Peep peep! Iceland, in blue, kick off from left to right. England are in white.
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Iceland have made a change in the warm-up, with Albert Gudmundsson replacing Kolbeinn Sigthorsson. The revised teams are:
Iceland (4-4-2) Halldorsson; Hermansson, Ingason, Arnason, H Magnusson; Traustason, B Bjarnason, Palsson, Porsteinsson; Gudmundsson, Bodvarsson.
Substitutes: Kristinsson, Runarsson, Fjoluson, Eyjolfsson, Friojonsson, A Sigurdsson, Anderson, Fridjonsson, Baldursson, Hallfredsson, Skulason.
England (4-1-2-3) Pickford; Walker, Gomez, Dier, Trippier; Rice; Ward-Prowse, Foden; Sancho, Kane, Sterling.
Substitutes: Pope, D Henderson, Alexander-Arnold, Mings, Keane, Grealish, Mount, Maitland-Niles, Coady, Phillips, Ings, Greenwood.
This is another young England side, with only the two full-backs, Walker and Trippier, over the age of 27. English football has come a helluva long way since that French farce four years ago.
“Hello Rob,” says Kári Tulinius. “It bugs me a little that sporting authorities can’t handle Icelandic naming conventions. Basically, whether we have patronyms, family names, or both, Icelanders are referred to by our first names. Even the president is simply referred to by his first name, Guðni. Reading a list of Icelandic last names just feels wrong. It would be like Zinedine Zidane, Matt Le Tissier and Sol Campbell were listed as Yazid, Paul and Jeremiah. Yeah, their middle name is part of their name, but it’s not right either.”
What names do they have on their shirts? And is that dictated by Uefa?
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The players are ready for action. It’s a crisp, sunny evening in Reykjavik. Little brisk.
“Bit of a leftfield one here but would Dan Burn have been worth a place in the squad?” says Carl Whinder. “Consistent performer for Brighton last year and can play centre back, left of a back three, left back and left wing back.”
I’m sure he’ll have been discussed, especially as they short on left-backs in this squad. He’s not the only Brighton defender Gareth Southgate will be looking at this season.
Gareth Southgate’s pre-match thoughts
“I’ve said to go out and show what they can do - they’ve waited long enough to go and play, and they’re eager to play. There’s a stubborn opponent in front of us so we have to be patient and counter the threats that they have. But as much as anything I want them to enjoy their football and show people what they’ve been missing.
“We know how much quality [Phil Foden] has got, and he’s fitted straight in. That’s the beauty of St George’s Park - the younger players come in, they know how we play, and we’re not asking him to do anything different to what he does every day of the week.”
Pre-match reading
Team news
Manchester City’s Phil Foden, 20, makes his England debut in a midfield that also includes James Ward-Prowse. It looks like Kieran Trippier is playing at left-back, with either Eric Dier or Declan Rice in the centre of the defence.
Iceland (4-4-2) Halldorsson; Hermansson, Ingason, Arnason, H Magnusson; Traustason, B Bjarnason, Palsson, Porsteinsson; Sigthorsson, Bodvarsson.
Substitutes: Kristinsson, Runarsson, Fjoluson, Eyjolfsson, Friojonsson, A Sigurdsson, Gudmundsson, Anderson, Fridjonsson, Baldursson, Hallfredsson, Skulason.
England (4-1-2-3) Pickford; Walker, Gomez, Dier, Trippier; Rice; Ward-Prowse, Foden; Sancho, Kane, Sterling.
Substitutes: Pope, D Henderson, Alexander-Arnold, Mings, Keane, Grealish, Mount, Maitland-Niles, Coady, Phillips, Ings, Greenwood.
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Preamble
Hello. Forget all this talk of England seeking revenge against Iceland tonight. They should arrive at Laugardalsvöllur in Reykjavik offering thanks, because that humiliating defeat at Euro 2016 was the catalyst for the rebirth of a national team that had been drifting aimlessly for a decade or more.
We’ll never know where England would be had they beaten Iceland and lost acceptably to France in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016. But I doubt they would have reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, and I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t be the favourites – the favourites! – to win Euro 2021.
They aren’t favourites to win the Nations League, which might seem contradictory but is presumably because they are in the same group as Belgium. Only one team will qualify for the Nations League Finals, with Iceland and Denmark completing the group. England start with two matches in Scandinavia: Reykjavik this afternoon and Copenhagen on Tuesday. Six points would be gratefully received.
Kick off 5pm BST.
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