Match preview
England will end their Nations League campaign by hosting Iceland at Wembley on Wednesday. The Three Lions will have to settle for a third place finish in Group A2 after failing to make it to the penultimate round of the tournament. Successive defeats to Denmark and Belgium proved to be enough to dash the hopes of Gareth Southgates men as the aforementioned pair gear up to fight for a place in the final four.
Against both sides, England looked the brighter team but it eventually boiled down to who was able to take the chances that presented itself. Good fortune evaded the Three Lions in the game against Denmark at Wembley as a Christian Eriksen spot kick decided the game while they dealt with Harry Maguire's sending off.
In the trip to Belgium, fine margins sealed the deal. While they came close to getting on the scoresheet on multiple instances, Youri Tielemans' deflected shot and Dries Mertens' free-kick to get the hosts their revenge for the defeat in the reverse encounter.
At this juncture, pride is all that is left to play for and, as such, Gareth Southgate should be able to give some minutes to the squad members who are yet to feature for the side in this international break. And while the fresh legs will be out to justify their inclusion, Iceland may perhaps remain unfazed with their relegation to League B already confirmed.
Erik Hamren's men have so far recorded five defeats from five matches so far and have shipped 13 goals while scoring just three in the process. In the previous clash with Denmark, they came close to securing their first-ever point in the campaign but were dealt a heatbreak after Christian Eriksen converted a second successive penalty in the dying minutes of the contest.
As to whether Iceland will translate the pain into meaningful energy to bow out with their heads high remains to be seen when they take on England at Wembley on Wednesday. Any performance reminscent of what was delivered when the Three Lions came to town for their first group game should be enough, although goals must be added this time.
Team news
England will be without the suspended Reece James when Iceland come to town on Wednesday. However, there is a boost in camp with Harry Maguire passing the eligibility test after serving his ban.
Connor Coady remains out of contention as he recovers in isolation after testing positive for coronavirus. Also, Jordan Henderson, Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling are expected to miss the clash through injuries.
Meanwhile, Iceland will be without Hordur Magnusson as he picked up his second booking of in the Nations League against Denmark. A host of players have also returned to their club sides with Erik Hamren expected to give minutes to those who are yet to feature in any of the games played so far.
Predicted starting XI
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England: Pope; Walker, Keane, Mings; Maitland-Niles, Rice, Winks, Saka; Sancho, Foden; Kane.
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Iceland: Runarsson; Sampsted, Ingason, Hermansson; Saevarsson, Baldursson, Bjarnason, Johannesson, Skulason; Gudjohnsen, Sigthorsson.
Broadcast information
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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