Eight years on from suffering one of their worst-ever humiliations at the hands of Iceland at Euro 2016, lightning struck twice for a lackadaisical England side at Wembley, as the Three Lions suffered a shock 1-0 friendly loss to Age Hareide 's men at Wembley. In their final warm-up friendly ahead of Euro 2024, where they were hitherto considered one of the main contenders to go all the way, Gareth Southgate 's side were found wanting throughout the 90 minutes and succumbed to a Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson strike in front of a flat atmosphere. Hundreds headed for the turnstiles well before the full-time whistle blew, which triggered a chorus of boos from the home crowd, who were forced to witness a hugely uninspiring performance from their troops against the world's 72nd-ranked nation.
The visitors could and perhaps should have won by more on the night, leaving Southgate with plenty of questions to answer and predicaments to solve before the real business gets underway in Germany, but Friday's showing has done little to enhance England's favourites tag. While Southgate was still unable to call upon Jude Bellingham 's services, the Three Lions boss was able to put out an XI closer to what he intends to put out from the first whistle at the Euros, including Cole Palmer on the right and Phil Foden in a central position. The latter was responsible for the Three Lions' first meaningful attack, picking out the run of Kieran Trippier on the left with a sensational pass from deep, althou.
