Iceland beat England at Wembley

 Iceland beat England at Wembley.

This was a case of history repeating itself and yet how did this come to pass? We were expecting so much more after all that had taken place against Bosnia, but once again England struggled to keep their feet against Iceland and paid the penalty for cocky complacency and foolhardy presumptuousness. Sometimes England never know whether to stick or twist against any opposition. In the bigger picture, this was not the end of the world. Once again Iceland, who used to be be regarded as whipping boys at football's international top table, shocked and surprised everybody yet again.

By the end of last night's friendly, England were looking quizzically at themselves again and wondering why Iceland have suddenly become their bogey team, a nuisance value who just keep coming back to haunt England. Iceland beat England 1-0 yesterday evening and there was something very wounding about England's defeat that sent a nervous shiver down the spines of England's hardy, loyal fans. There was a palpable anxiety in the air, a sense that there are still alarming deficiencies in Gareth Southgate's England team. 

True, England were without their central playmaker Jude Bellingham but the angst and apprehension could be felt as soon as Jon Dugar Thornsteinsson had given Iceland the lead with barely ten minutes gone. From that point onwards, England just seemed to be tying themselves into increasingly complex circles. Their football, admittedly, was still refreshing, invigorating, attractive and all beautifully designed. The passes were short, instinctive, proactive and hearteningly progressive but then the avenues of opportunity were completely closed down and England reminded you of men looking for front door keys.

In 2016, of course, Roy Hodgson, then England manager, took the national side to Nice in France and spent most of their group match against Iceland like labourers on a building site thrashing away at lumps of concrete, smashing down part of a brick wall and then encountering yet more problems. In the end though, a frustrated England seemed to get down to the last sediment and then just surrendered because they simply couldn't get any further.

Goals from Ragnar Sigurdsson and Kolbein Sigthorssen, after a terrible blunder by England goalkeeper Joe Hart, reduced England to a quivering wreck. The sight of thousands of elated Iceland fans celebrating like Viking boatmen, still leaves some English supporters feeling ever so queasy when they come to reflect on the repercussions of that unnerving night for the England national team. It may be a long time though, before we forget last night's latest terrible debacle but for now, it's best not to dwell.

England, last night, were a team who looked bloated and ragged, correct and cultured but there was very little left in the tank and, in the end, all of the pretty bows and ribbons of their approach work simply unravelled as soon as they reached the edge of the Icelandic penalty area. It was probably just as well that this was merely a friendly since, had this been the real thing, then the England crowd may not have been quite as sympathetic.

For manager Gareth Southgate, this is now beginning to look like the end of his personal road. Should England come unstuck and then just flop disastrously in Germany, then Southgate may need to pick up his coat and belongings and leave FA headquarters in Soho Square in London's West End. The last ten years have all been about evolution, revolution, those developmental stages in England's now carefully prepared team, a much healthier place than it once was under Don Revie who just promptly upped sticks and left for Saudi Arabia, simply forgetting about the national team.

And yet this still feels like the right time for England to hit the oil gusher. In the World Cup of Qatar two years ago, England were just unlucky to come up against a France team who just treated the game like pavement artists who finally end up in an art exhibition. The French are now seasoned tournament winners but then reached a World Cup Final against Argentina where a landscape painter named Lionel Messi richly deserved his first, if elusive World Cup winners medal.

Last night though, England found themselves up against a blue barbed wire fence of Icelandic shirts, constantly shadowing and hounding down the likes of Kobbie Manoo of Manchester United, Anthony Gordon of Newcastle, Arsenal's Declan Rice, Phil Foden of Manchester City and Cole Palmer of Chelsea. This was not the way it was meant to be for England and yet it was. You remembered though that, on another day and a far more important one, England will adopt an entirely different mentality. Iceland will, presumably, not be Serbia in England's opening group stage match in Euro 2024.

But Manoo, Gordon, Palmer, Foden and Rice, although shuttling the ball amongst themselves too patiently and cautiously, simply couldn't find their way through their Nordic opposition. Gordon did look like the genuine article, an old fashioned winger who protects the ball rather like a young father cradling his new born baby with endearing tenderness. Gordon shuffled the ball for a while, drew his defender towards him teasingly, cuts back onto his favoured foot before sprinting for the by line and delivering low and high crosses. But this was not Gordon's night.

For Kobbie Manoo, still on a high after scoring Manchester United's second and decisive goal in the FA Cup Final against Manchester City, this was another competent and highly impressive display but it remains to be seen whether Gareth Southgate has given Manoo another thought. Phil Foden has to be considered for England's opening game against Serbia because he's just a pleasure to watch when things are going well for Manchester City, exciting, energetic, his awareness of his colleagues around him, second to none.

With John Stones and Kyle Walker now advancing into those twilit years, the England defence began to creak at the hinges at times. Walker is still as fast as an Olympic athlete while Stones just oozes streetwise intelligence. But we are now at the point where England have to lock up at the back without fearing that there are too many rough edges. Declan Rice of Arsenal still carries the ball with all the stateliness of a Moore or Beckenbauer and there is a feeling that Euro 2024 could be his tournament.

And yet we return to last night's setback for England. When Jon Dagur Thornsteinsson darted inside his defender after some clever exchanges of passes between the blue shirts of Iceland, the striker did what all strikers do. Thornsteinsson moved inside the England defence and sent a low, powerfully struck shot that beat Aaron Ramsdale, England's keeper for the night, all ends up. For the rest of the game, Iceland just made it physically impossible for England with defensive chains that just kept the home side away from them throughout the game.

So it is that the attention turns to Euro 2024 and Germany. For English fans, we all have idyllic scenarios since some of us would love nothing better than to repeat the memorable World Cup Final exploits of 1966 when everything just seemed to slot into place perfectly. Sure, this is not the World Cup and Harold Wilson had yet to find the right pipe to smoke for the occasion. 58 years have come and gone but now, more than ever, it just feels as though fate may be on England's side. The mantra is painfully familiar but the sight of Harry Kane lifting the Euro trophy may be more than just a fantasy.