It was one of those occasions when England had more to lose than to win. In front of them was a broken and depleted Iceland team, who had lost six of seven matches previously this season – including the Euro 2020 play-off against Hungary – and were marking the end of the managerial tenure of Erik Hamrén.
With a starting XI compromising of players from unfashionable clubs, it was always going to be an exercise of England’s attack against their defence, when it would be hard to read too deeply into what played out.
England did what they had to do in that they won and avoided anything disastrous, which can happen against these opponents. There was a magical moment for Declan Rice when he opened the scoring with his first England goal and eye-catching performances from Bukayo Saka and Mason Mount, who scored the second goal. But it was a night that, above all, belonged to one player.
Phil Foden made his England debut against Iceland in Reykjavik at the start of the season, although what happened in a room at the team hotel the day after was rather more notorious. This was his redemption. Back in the starting lineup for the first time, he enjoyed himself with the ball at his feet, showcasing some marvellous touches and skills. Even better there was end product. He had created Rice’s goal with an inviting free-kick delivery and there were two late ones of his own – his first for the senior team – in the closing stages.
They were both whipped home with his left foot, the first from close range after an incision by the substitute Jadon Sancho. The second from outside the area, a precision low shot after a couple of touches to set himself. It was a belter. The paucity of the opposition must be remembered. Foden, though, has announced himself at this level.
It was a night when Southgate made a statement to the Premier League’s managers, some of whom, he had admitted beforehand, were putting “huge pressure” on their players not to turn out for internationals, particularly those with little riding on them. Southgate started with a lineup that represented the strongest available to him. He was never going to rest players. Why should he? With time short before the Euros, every game matters, every game is a chance to build, to fine-tune. His experimentation at the outset was restricted to using what he has described as |”two No 10s” – Jack Grealish and Foden – in the spaces around Harry Kane.
Southgate had done the same in Sunday’s defeat in Belgium and it meant England effectively started with a pair of roaming inside forwards, rather than wider attackers; the emphasis more on finesse than speed. The width had to come from the wing-backs.
Iceland were physical, uncompromising, compact in their 5-3-2 system. When they won an early corner, they put five men around Jordan Pickford and, inevitably, conceded a foul. The question for England, as it was always going to be, was whether they could prise Iceland apart.
England took charge after a cagey opening with a goal from a set piece and it was a moment that Rice will never forget. Nor will Foden, for that matter; the 20-year-old’s free-kick from the left was whipped in and Rice, having timed his run, used the pace on the ball to flick his header – with a large bit of shoulder – into the far corner.
The worst case scenario for England was that Iceland would frustrate them and grow as they ticked the minutes off with scores level. Once a clean sheet was off the table, the relief was palpable. England could ease into the game.
Southgate had started Mount in central midfield alongside Rice but with orders to get forward. This was no game for a double pivot and, when Mount got into the area midway through the first half, he finished smartly. Saka created the chance with a cross from the left and the ball reached Mount after poor Iceland defending and a poke by Kane.
England were slicker, sharper, comfortable on the ball, which ought not to have come as a surprise given the level of the opposition. Foden enjoyed himself, his quick feet bewitching those in blue, at times, and he was twice denied before the interval by Ögmundur Kristinsson.
Saka was prominent, too, for the third game in a row, working the goalkeeper on 22 minutes after a Grealish cut-back. Saka has done a good deal to advance his claims during this window, ahead of Ben Chilwell.
Southgate has stressed that it is the personnel in his 3-4-3 rather than the system itself that determines the tactical outlook and, with Mount and Saka rather than the injured Jordan Henderson and Chilwell, the dial was turned towards attack.
Saka was simply too quick for the right-sided Iceland defender, Birkir Már Sævarsson, who had caught him in the 11th minute to collect his first booking. It was late and painful and, when he pulled back Saka on 54 minutes, Iceland were down to 10.
England wanted more goals, nobody more so than Kane, who had twice wasted opportunities in the first half. He had a shot blocked in the second and banged a free-kick into the wall. It was not his night. Foden would show him the way to goal and Saka ought to have added a fifth only to blow a close-range header from Foden’s cross.