da brdice： It was like being back in 2016 as the Three Lions were again frozen out by the boys from the land of fire and ice
da luck： Just when you thought England had banished the ghosts of their past, they succumbed to another shock defeat to Iceland, throwing their preparations for Euro 2024 into disarray.
Iceland produced one of the greatest shocks in international football history when they knocked Roy Hodgson's England out of Euro 2016 the day after the United Kingdom had voted to leave the European Union. And while the Three Lions have felt like a much stronger team in the subsequent years, here was a reminder that they are far from the finished article as they head out to Germany.
Their status as favourites will have been rocked by this defeat, and so will their confidence as they quickly ran out of ideas as to how to get past the compact visitors.
Aaron Ramsdale's confidence will also be affected after conceding a near-post strike from Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson while Southgate must have also been concerned when John Stones, his only centre-back to have major tournament experience, picked up an ankle injury and was then withdrawn at half-time.
The performances of Anthony Gordon and Marc Guehi were the few bright spots of a dark night for England on what should have been a rousing send off. Instead, they head to Germany with plenty of unanswered questions.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Wembley Stadium…
Getty ImagesLOSER: Aaron Ramsdale
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.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesWINNER: Iceland
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.
Getty ImagesLOSER: England's attack
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.
Getty ImagesWINNER: Serbia
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.