In less than 24 hours after the official English national team selection was announced, it sparked a wave of public controversy, and Coach Gareth Southgate’s “Three Lions” team received a bitter result against Iceland in the final friendly match in the early hours of June 8th.

Statistics show that England have never lost their final match, usually a friendly, before major events since 1968. The Gareth Southgate-led England team also has an 11-match unbeaten streak against European teams, since being defeated by France in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals.

After their surprise victory over England and elimination of the “giant” at Euro 2016, Iceland have always been overwhelmed by the same opponent in subsequent meetings (3 losses, 1 draw).

The Iceland team, led by coach Age Fridtjof Hareide, have performed quite poorly in their last 17 outings (3 wins, 9 losses), so their encounter with England this time does not promise any positive results.

Hosting Iceland at Wembley, England fielded an almost full-strength lineup as per the recently announced squad.

However, the surprise came as early as the 12th minute when Iceland took the lead, stunning the Wembley crowd. Hakon Amar Haraldsson broke from midfield on the counterattack and passed to Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson, who entered the home team’s box, beat John Stones, and slotted the ball into the near corner past Aaron Ramsdale.

After conceding the goal, England pushed forward and put pressure on the Iceland goal. In the 28th minute, Cole Palmer played a piercing pass, but Harry Kane’s close-range finish was inaccurate, which was the most notable England chance in the first half.

England nearly conceded a second goal in the 63rd minute, again with Haraldsson breaking through the offside trap, but Thorsteinsson slipped and missed the shot.

In the remaining time, coach Gareth Southgate introduced attacking reinforcements like Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Eberechi Eze, but England were unable to find an equalizer.

The Wembley crowd loudly expressed their disappointment with the home team’s lackluster performance throughout the match.

The English media used the word “Disappointment” to describe a game that was expected to be routine, but the defeat will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the players’ mindset ahead of the upcoming Euro 2024 campaign.

Hopefully, with the return of Jude Bellingham, who is resting after the Champions League final, England can improve their attacking potency.

According to the schedule, the England national team will begin their quest for the title in Germany by facing Serbia at 2 am on June 17th.