England vs Iceland: Preview, Prediction & Betting Picks

Euro 2024 is just around the corner, and England will host Iceland in a friendly for what will be their final game in preparation before the tournament begins.

Date: 6/7/24

Kick-off time: 11:45 am Pacific Time

Venue: Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium plays host to England and Iceland as Gareth Southgate gets a final look at his players before they set off to Germany for the European Championships. It will also be a last opportunity for certain players to impress before Southgate cuts the provisional squad to 26 the following day. The likes of Eberechi Eze, Adam Wharton and Curtis Jones will be hoping to remain in the squad, whilst Jack Grealish will be looking to prove his worth.

Jude Bellingham will be a focal point in the England side, and he will be coming into camp fresh from his first ever Champions League triumph. Harry Kane also comes into the tournament on the back of a fantastic campaign, in which he scored 44 goals in all competitions for Bayern Munich. Cole Palmer’s displays this season gives Southgate a tough decision with a number of players pushing to start in his position. The Chelsea star has 37 goal involvements, but has only made two appearances for his country.

Iceland will be the opponents, after they missed out on European qualification. They earned a place in the playoff phase despite finishing fourth in their group, and faced Israel in the first game. They won 4-1, which set up a game with Ukraine. However, they were beaten 2-1 late on to end their European hopes. Albert Gudmundsson of Genoa has scored four goals in the last two games, so could provide a threat against the England defence.

These two nations have only played against each other five times, the most recent being a 4-0 win for the Three Lions in the Nations League in November 2020. However, the most famous meeting came in Euro 2016, as Iceland shocked England in the Round of 16. Wayne Rooney opened the scoring, but the game was turned on its head before the 20th minute.

England Team News

Marcus Rashford, Reece James and Ben Chilwell headline the big names left out of the provisional squad for the Euros. Jude Bellingham may be absent due to his involvement in the Champions League final for Real Madrid the week before. Eberechi Eze, Adam Wharton and Curtis Jones are among those hoping to impress. Luke Shaw is unlikely to be fit.

Iceland Team News

Burnley player Johann Gudmundsson will expect to play a big role for Iceland. Captain Aron Gunnarsson is also likely to be involved.

England Form Guide

In their last five games, England have won two, drawn two and lost one. As preparations begin for the upcoming Euros, it has been an inconsistent stretch for the Three Lions as they are winless in three games. The run started with consecutive wins, however, the first of which being a 3-1 victory over Italy. Gianluca Scamacca opened the scoring after just 15 minutes, but Harry Kane equalised from the penalty spot past the half hour mark. Marcus Rashford put the hosts in front, before Kane added a third to seal the win.

It was two wins in a row, with a 2-0 victory against Malta. They took an early lead through an own goal from Enrico Pepe. England dominated possession throughout, restricting their opponents to no shots on target and 25% of the ball, but only managed three on target themselves. They finally took advantage of their superiority with another goal thanks to Kane. This preceded a 1-1 draw against North Macedonia in their final Euros Qualifying game. Their opponents took the lead through Enis Bardhi shortly before half-time, but conceded the equaliser as Jani Atanasov converted into his own net 15 minutes into the second period.

They faced Brazil in a friendly during the latest international break, in which they lost 1-0. Youngster Endrick scored his first goal for his nation in the 80th minute at Wembley to condemn England to defeat. Their most recent game was a 2-2 draw against Belgium. Youri Tielemans scored a brace for the visitors, either side of an Ivan Toney penalty. They salvaged a draw very late on as Jude Bellingham netted an equaliser in the 95th minute. Before they take on Iceland, they will host Bosnia at St James’ Park on Monday night.

Iceland Form Guide

In their last five games, Iceland have won three and lost two. Results wise, it has been a decent stretch for Iceland, but they missed out on Euros qualification in the most important game. This was in their most recent fixture against Ukraine. The winner of the game would have earned a place in the tournament via the playoffs, and it was Ukraine who came out on top 2-1 late on. Iceland went ahead through Albert Gudmundsson in the first half, but were pegged back by Viktor Tsyhankov shortly after the restart. The game looked set to be headed for extra-time, but Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk netted the winner with six minutes to go.

They set up this game with Iceland with a 4-1 win away at Israel. They went behind to a penalty just past the half hour mark, but turned it around before the break through goals from Gudmundsson and Arnor Ingvi Traustason. Gudmundsson added two more to complete a hat-trick in the second half. This followed a friendly game at Honduras in which they were 2-0 winners. Andri Gudjohnsen opened the scoring from the penalty spot, before Brynjolfur Willumsson doubled the lead.

It was a second win in a row after a narrow 1-0 win at Guatemala in a friendly. The goal did not come until late as Ísak Þorvaldsson scored the 79th minute winner. Their final game of the group phase of Euros qualifying was the first fixture of this stretch. It ended in defeat as they lost 2-0 at Portugal. They conceded either side of half-time, with Bruno Fernandes and Ricardo Horta on the scoresheet.

England will be hoping for a win and good performance in their final game before the Euros begin. We expect them to pick up a victory with a dominant and comfortable display – England 3-0 Iceland

England vs Iceland will be available to watch on Apple TV