No cutting edge, no fit centre-backs, no hope?! Winners and losers as awful England embarrass themselves against Iceland in Euro 2024 send-off

Southgate declared before the game that Arsenal man Ramsdale was his second-choice goalkeeper behind Jordan Pickford, and his performance here appeared to confirm that status.

Ramsdale has committed far bigger errors than conceding the goal he let in at Wembley, but he still will be disappointed with how he let Thorsteinsson’s low shot beat him at his near post. When your side do most of the attacking, you need to be extra concentrated and be on top of the few shots you do face, and Ramsdale fell short in that respect.

Rishi Sunak, King Charles, Gareth Southgate, your boys took a hell of a beating! The country’s leaders have changed, but England are still no match for the tiny volcanic island which has a smaller population than Croydon.

Iceland must have thought their shock elimination of England in Euro 2016 was a once-in-a-lifetime result, but eight years later they pulled off another huge surprise, claiming their first ever win at Wembley.

The stakes were lower here, but the result and performance from England was no less concerning. While Roy Hodgson’s side lost to a team at their peak, in a tournament in which they had already held Portugal to a 0-0 draw, Iceland are no longer the force they were a few years ago, having finished fourth in their qualifying group before falling to Ukraine in the play-offs.

But they still know how to organise a defence, frustrate a more illustrious side and how to take their few chances, which is what Thorsteinsson duly did.

England’s biggest strength on paper is their attacking quality, but their star players were all stunted by Iceland’s defensive organisation.

Harry Kane missed the type of chance he had been scoring all season for Bayern Munich, somehow sending Cole Palmer’s inviting ball wide over the target. The captain’s all-round game was also uninspiring, perhaps the result of the back injury he picked up late in the season.

Palmer and Phil Foden managed to create some space with their nifty footwork, but the Manchester City midfielder’s passing left a lot to be desired, while he also missed the target from a promising opening.

Anthony Gordon was England’s brightest attacker and was the only player to get the fans inside Wembley off their feet thanks to his darting pace. But they were soon sitting down again due to his poor final ball, which he hit either at Icelandic defenders or into the crowd.

Bukayo Saka looked rusty when he came off the bench while Eberechi Eze, one of the standout players against Bosnia, offered little in his 12 minutes on the pitch.

Serbia might have felt disheartened about their prospects for the tournament after losing their first warm-up game against Austria, but their spirits would have been lifted by watching England struggle so much against a disciplined low block.

Dragan Stojković’s side will be fired up for their game against the Three Lions in Gelsenkirchen in what is set to be their first game at a European Championship since Euro 2000, and now they have a clear blueprint to follow thanks to Iceland.

England will still be favourites, but Serbia will know they have a good chance of causing an upset so long as they can prevent their opponents from cutting inside too much and block their passing lanes, as Age Hareide’s side did to perfection.

Serbia also have far superior attacking quality to Iceland in the form of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Dusan Vlahovic, Luka Jovic, and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, giving them real hope of getting at England’s depleted backline.

After making the tough decision to leave Harry Maguire out due to his injury troubles, the last thing Southgate needed was another fitness concern affecting his only other experienced centre-back. But in only the second minute, John Stones went down in a heap after tangling with Thorsteinsson.

The Manchester City defender winced in pain but battled on for the remainder of the first half, and the incident affected his ability to get tight on Thorsteinsson for the only goal of the game. Stones was taken off at half-time as a precaution and Southgate said he thought the defender would recover quickly and in time to make the tournament.

But it was yet another scare for Stones, who could only make 12 Premier League starts this season due to injuries, including an ankle problem sustained at Goodison Park in December. And it was another demonstration of how vulnerable he remains to ankle injuries, which is a worrying sign ahead of a month-long tournament.

If there was one positive note for England it was the performance of Guehi. The Crystal Palace defender showed confidence and class on the ball, breaking the Iceland press with his slick forward passing. He was also quick to anticipate the danger, shutting down Iceland’s attacks with composure as well as the occasional decisive block.

This was only the 23-year-old’s 11th England cap, but he will be one of the more experienced central defenders in the squad due to Maguire missing out and the potential injury to Stones. There will be added pressure on his shoulders as a result, but here he showed he can take that extra responsibility in his stride.

The England manager has defied his critics by picking his 26-man squad almost purely on form, displaying none of the loyalty he had previously shown to under-performing players who have served him well in the past.

But after making bold choices such as leaving out Jack Grealish and James Maddison, he needed a result and a big performance to back up his decisions. He got neither.

Iceland’s tactics frustrated England, but the fact Southgate’s side, who were mostly at full-strength bar the absences of Pickford and Jude Bellingham, were unable to break down a team that has not even qualified for the tournament does not bode well for their chances of going all the way in Germany.