How England can avenge former mistakes against Iceland

The two nations meet for the first time since the historic Euro 2016 clash in France

England will renew its bid for the UEFA Nations League title in the 2020/21 edition with a long trip to Reykjavik to face old foes Iceland on Sunday.

Drawn together in the competition’s Group 2 of League A, this will be the first clash between the teams since the historic match at the Euro 2016 in France.

The Strákarnir okkar caused a huge upset in the round of 16 by ousting the Three Lions, fighting back from a 1-0 deficit to clinch an emphatic 2-1 win.

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However, both teams have traversed highly contrasting paths ever since. While Gareth Southgate has since run a taut ship and guided England to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and also secured a direct qualification to next year’s Euros, Iceland has fallen off its lofty heights.

The Nordic outfit couldn’t get past the group stages of the Russian showpiece two years ago and finished at the bottom of the group stages in Nations League’s 2018/19 season too.

An underwhelming campaign in the Euro qualifiers also saw Erik Hamren’s side finish third behind France and Turkey in Group H, but can still go to the tournament proper by winning the play-offs in October.

Form Guide

In the last 12 months, Iceland has played eight games, winning five. However, it includes a pair of inconsequential friendlies to Canada and El Salvador in January this year, with Hamren essentially playing a B-team.

For England, this will be the first official match since wrapping up the Euro qualifying phase in November last year. There were friendlies lined up with Italy, Denmark, Austria, and Romania in this calendar year, all of which got canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, in the last six official games, the Three Lions have won five times and lost just once – the disappointing 2-1 reverse to the Czech Republic in October 2019.

Team News

Iceland is debilitated by the absence of several key players in the squad. Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton) and Johann Berg Gudmundsson (Burnley) are unavailable for selection whereas Aron Gunnarsson has been blocked from traveling by his Qatari club Al Arabi SC. Augsburg’s Alfred Finnbogason and Copenhagen’s Ragnar Sigurdsson have also been ruled out with injuries.

In the opposite camp, Gareth Southgate will be without the services of Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson, who’s unavailable because of injuries while Marcus Rashford and Harry Winks pulled out of the squad last week citing fitness concerns. Harry Maguire has also pulled out of the squad due to his recent legal issues in Greece. Curiously, the manager hasn’t called any natural left-back.

Possible line-ups

Iceland: Hannes Halldorsson, Victor Palsson, Kari Arnason, Sverrir Ingi Ingason, Ari Freyr Skulason, Arnor Sigurdsson, Birkir Bjarnason, Emil Hallfredsson, Arnor Ingvi Traustason, Kolbeinn Sigthorsson, Jon Dadi Bodvarsson.

England: Nick Pope, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Eric Dier, Joe Gomez, Tyrone Mings, Declan Rice, Mason Mount, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane, Jadon Sancho.

Prediction

Iceland will surely have the Euro 2016 result in mind, but a repeat seems very unlikely. This England team is more robust, ruthless, and relentless from the one it faced in Nice.

Also, the likes of Sterling, Sancho, and Alexander-Arnold are coming off the back of highly impressive club campaigns, whereas Kane has been on target in each of the last six games for England.

The hosts won’t be helped by the fact that they’re missing out on several key players too. So barring another shocker, this should be a duck soup for the men in white.

Predicted score: Iceland 0-3 England