England vs Iceland: 5 Major Talking Points After Three Lions Suffer Shock Defeat

• England suffered a 1-0 defeat to Iceland in their final friendly before the start of the Euro 2024 on Friday, June 7, 2024
• Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson's early strike proved to be the difference as Iceland claimed a shock win at Wembley
• The game had several talking points, as England showed signs of weakness just days to the European Championships

England were handed a brutal reality check on Friday, June 7, in their final friendly game before the start of the Euros.

The Three Lions, tipped as one of the favourites to win the European Championship, fell behind through Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson's early strike in the 12th minute.

The star-studded England team failed to find an equaliser despite their best efforts, begging the question of whether they can go all the way in a major tournament under Gareth Southgate.

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Sports Brief takes a look at some major talking points from the game

England 0-1 Iceland: Major talking points

John Stones' injury scare

Manchester City centre back John Stones threw England fans into panic after going down holding his ankle, two minutes into the game.

He played on but was replaced by Ezri Konsa at half time.

Speaking after the game, Southgate gave a vague answer when asked about Stones’ fitness.

“We think he’s probably okay, but we didn’t want to take a chance with him,” the manager said, per BBC.

Aaron Ramsdale’s howler

Sections of England fans were critical of Aaron Ramsdale’s performance against Iceland and how the Arsenal shot-stopper conceded the first goal.

The Arsenal man was beaten in his near post by Thorsteinsson, sparking a wave of criticism on social media.

With Dean Henderson and Jordan Pickford at Southgate’s disposal, Ramsdale risks seeing out the tournament from the bench.

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“England missed Harry Maguire”

According to Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney, Harry Maguire was a huge miss For England on Friday.

Maguire was ruled out of the tournament after failing to recover in time from a muscle injury and according to Rooney, the combination of John Stones (Ezri Konsa ine second half) and Marc Guehi looked ‘disjointed’.

Axing Jack Grealish is starting to look like a mistake

On social media, fans all made the same point about Jack Grealish after the defeat.

The Manchester City star was a shock omission from the final squad, despite the £100 million man’s renowned talent down the flanks.

England’s attackers on Friday – Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane, failed to impress, and it did not look like Southgate had a plan B.

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England fans want to believe that the Euro 2024 will finally be the competition which will “bring it home”.

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But based on Southgate’s latest comments, fans are getting a sense that the manager may not have any new tricks up his sleeves for the upcoming tournament.

After the game, the England boss, who is yet to win a major trophy with The Three Lions, offered a theory on why his side lost.

He said "It's been a strange preparation, in that we're having to get players off after an hour at a time where you really [ought to be] pushing to turn the result around. We've been able to look at people, we've been able to learn about the balance of the team, and of course it's not perfect.”

Netherlands’ all-time goal scorers

Sports Brief also reported on the Netherlands’ all-time goal-scorers as Memphis Depay closed in on the record.

The 30-year-old winger’s performances for his clubs have always been questioned, but there is no denying his contributions to his national team.

In Netherlands’ latest friendly match before embarking on the European championships, the former Manchester United man showed glimpses of what was to come by netting his 45th international goal in a 4-0 win over Canada.