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After their loss to Belgium on Sunday, England will now face Iceland at Wembley on Wednesday in what is essentially a dead rubber.
England can no longer qualify for next year’s UEFA Nations League finals, while Iceland have already been relegated to League B.
The game will likely see England name another changed line-up due to various injuries, but Gareth Southgate’s side will be hoping for a far better performance against Iceland than they managed in September’s 0-1 win, and of course, they won’t want a repeat of their Euro 2016 loss to the Scandinavians.
England vs Iceland Head-to-Head
To call England’s 2020 Nations League campaign a disappointment would be an understatement. They did pick up wins over Belgium and Iceland, but also lost to Belgium and Denmark, with a dour draw with the Danes along the way.
They’ve scored just three goals – two penalties and a lucky deflection – which is a contrast to their performances in the Euro 2020 qualifiers that saw them score 37 goals in just eight games.
Iceland, meanwhile, have struggled badly in 2020. After winning two friendly games at the start of the year, they’ve since suffered six losses in seven matches, with the only win coming in a Euro 2020 playoff semi-final against Romania.
England form guide: W-W-L-W-L
Iceland form guide: W-L-L-L-L
England vs Iceland Team News
Prior to the loss to Belgium, England had already lost Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Conor Coady, James Ward-Prowse and Marcus Rashford to either injury or COVID-19. Things have now gotten worse.
Raheem Sterling departed the squad hours before the Belgium match with a calf injury, and Jordan Henderson and Ben Chilwell were both substituted and likely won’t be available for this game with Iceland. Reece James also remains suspended, but Harry Maguire will now be available again.
Injured: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson, James Ward-Prowse, Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling
Doubtful: Ben Chilwell
Suspended: Reece James
Unavailable: Conor Coady
Iceland have also had a number of withdrawals from their current squad. Hordur Magnusson, Ragnar Sigurdsson, Aron Gunnarsson, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Arnor Traustason, Alfred Finnbogason and Vidar Kjartansson are all unavailable for this game.
Unavailable: Ragnar Sigurdsson, Willum Willumsson, Aron Gunnarsson, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Johan Berg Gudmundsson, Arnor Traustason, Alfred Finnbogason, Vidar Kjartansson
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Hordur Magnusson
England vs Iceland Predicted XI
England predicted XI (3-4-3): Dean Henderson, Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Kieran Trippier, Declan Rice, Harry Winks, Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho, Harry Kane, Jack Grealish
Iceland predicted XI (3-5-2): Runar Alex Runarsson, Sverrir Ingason, Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson, Kari Arnason, Birkir Mar Saevarsson, Runar Mar Sigurjonsson, Birkir Bjarnason, Arnor Sigurdsson, Ari Freyr Skulason, Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, Albert Gudmundsson
England vs Iceland Prediction
With Iceland having a squad shorn of most of its stars, this should be a winnable game for even a depleted England side.
The worry for England fans will be that Gareth Southgate sticks to the dour tactics he’s used recently, but the attacking skills of the likes of Jack Grealish and Harry Kane should be able to make the difference in this game.
Prediction: England 2-0 Iceland
