It was a decent climb to the upper tier of the Allianz Riviera Stadium. The first thing that grabbed the attention eight years ago was the sight of the pastel hillsides of the Cote d’Azur rising into a sky of brilliant blue above the stand opposite.
The second thing was the sound. It was new to some of us. The slow, rhythmic clap that came from the large cluster of Iceland fans already inside, gradually getting faster and faster and louder and louder until it reached a crescendo and finally faded away.
It quickly turned into the soundtrack for an England humiliation. That day in June 2016, which ended with a 2-1 defeat for England in Nice in the second round of the 2016 European Championships, was one of the low points in the history of our game. Some compared it with the defeat to the USA in Belo Horizonte the 1950 World Cup.
Eight years on, all those bad memories, all those uncomfortable associations, came flooding back
Eight years ago, Iceland sent England home from a tournament red-faced with embarrassment. This time, as they inflicted another morale-sapping defeat on the team that is the bookmakers’ favourites to win in Germany, they ensured that England would depart for the start of a tournament red-faced with embarrassment.
England suffered a 1-0 defeat to Iceland in their final warm up ahead of Euro 2024 next week
Gareth Southgate’s side were unable to break down their well-disciplined visitors at Wembley
The defeat brought back painful memories from when the two teams met at the Euros in 2016
England’s opening game of these European Championships is only nine days away but on the evidence of this performance, it is a shame England cannot petition for a delay. They do not look ready.
This was a grim night at Wembley, a night when much of the optimism engendered by Southgate’s selection of a bright, bold squad packed with brilliant and exciting young attacking talents disappeared into the London air with this 1-0 reverse.
This was a night, decided by a first half strike from Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson, when what was supposed to be a raucous send-off for the squad turned into a rather sobering reality check for England’s hopes of winning the European Championships in Germany.
It was a night where the home fans were streaming for the exits ten minutes from the end, leaving swathes of empty red seats in their wake. It was a night when this team of all the attacking talents came up empty. It was a match met by murmuring jeers at its close.
And it was a night when all the fears about England’s threadbare defence turned into dispiriting reality. Iceland are ranked 72nd in the world but there were times here when they tormented England with their superior passing and composure.
This was not a false result. England looked impotent going forward and vulnerable at the back. Most worryingly of all, they looked like strangers. They looked like players who have just learned each other’s names, not players who are ready to go into battle.
There are a couple of consolations. The first is that Jude Bellingham was not playing. He is still recovering from a long season with Real Madrid, crowned by winning the Champions League last weekend. England will be better with him.
The second consolation, of course, is that this was a friendly. It was a tune-up. It was not like that match in Nice, which signalled an ending. It would be comforting to say we should not set too much store by it but the problems at the back, in particular, are not likely to go away.
England have improved beyond recognition since that night in Nice but it did not feel like it here. They looked moribund and out of ideas going forward. They looked tired. They looked out of sorts.
Despite their struggles in attack here, this is a squad full of goals. The fear is that, once its defence comes up against the leading sides in Germany, it may also be full of holes.
With that in mind, England were given an almighty scare in the first minute when Stones fell awkwardly and Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson landed on the back of his leg. Stones has suffered a series of injury blows this season and he stayed down for some time. He was able to continue but did not look as if he were moving freely.
Former Fulham youngster Jon Thorsteinsson found space to get a shot away in the opening stages
The forward drove his shot towards the near post, giving Iceland an unlikely lead on 12 minutes
Aaron Ramsdale was visibly frustrated after conceding the opening goal at Wembley
England’s discomfort intensified after 12 minutes. Iceland played the ball out of defence and beat the England press with embarrassing ease. Mainoo was caught too far forward and when the ball was played wide to Thorsteinsson, he cut inside Stones and beat Aaron Ramsdale at his near post.
The stadium fell silent. England tried to find some rhythm and urgency and Rice pressured goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson into clearing a ball straight to Palmer, who took it on his chest and hammered it goalwards but it was blocked by Daniel Gretarsson.
The atmosphere inside Wembley was funereal, enlivened only by the occasional cheer for the flight of a paper plane. England’s impotence and the ease with which Iceland were able to subject them to danger was sobering.
England stayed patient, though, and they should have equalised just before the half hour. Palmer had been the pick of England’s players and he curled a beautiful, subtle cross into the box which found Harry Kane unmarked a few yards out. The crowd was already celebrating but Kane lifted his volley over the bar. Nothing was going right.
The rest of the half settled into a turgid, attritional, hushed stalemate. It only ended a minute before the interval when Iceland nearly went further ahead. England allowed their opponents to cut the ball back from the goalline to Arnor Traustason and only a superb block by Guehi stopped the visitors doubling their lead.
When the whistle blew for half time, it was met by a smattering of rather bored boos.
The fears over Stones’ fitness grew when he did not appear for the second half, replaced at centre back by Ezri Konsa, but England did at least fashion a rare moment of threat when Phil Foden and Gordon exchanged passes and Foden dragged an elegant shot just wide.
Palmer showed his speed of thought and his sublime technique again when he beat a defender to a ball from Kane that the England captain clipped forward to him with the outside of his right foot. Palmer tried to squeeze his shot inside the near post but it found the side-netting.
Palmer should have scored a couple of minutes later when a clever ball from Rice played him in on the goalkeeper. Unusually, Palmer hesitated and instead of shooting, he tried to take the ball around Valdimarsson again and Valdimarsson stayed on his feet, forced Palmer wide and blocked his shot.
But better chances fell to Iceland. Thorsteinsson should have scored when the ball was squared to him with only Ramsdale to beat but he lost his footing as he was about to connect with the ball and the ball looped harmlessly wide.
A returning Anthony Gordon was one of scant few positives for England in the first half
But John Stones being replaced due to injury only added to discomfort ahead of Euro 2024
The hosts were wasteful on the rare occasions that they were able to fashion real chances
Thorsteinsson nearly doubled Iceland’s lead after the interval, but slipped as a cross reached him
A few minutes later, centre back Sverrir Ingason lost his marker way too easily at an Iceland corner and ran to the back post. He met the ball well and headed it down but Ramsdale smothered it with his feet. It was a huge escape for Southgate’s side.
The England boss made a rash of substitutions and Trent Alexander-Arnold came on at right back and made an immediate impact, curling a delicious ball over the Iceland defence for Ivan Toney to run on to. Toney fell under a challenge as he tried to reach it but the referee waved play on.
England had half-chances towards the end but nothing more. It was a friendly. It need not be a significant setback but it hinted at a host of worries that lie beneath.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk