Phil Foden - sent home from Iceland in September - starred for England with two goals as they thrashed their 10-man opponents 4-0 at Wembley; visitors had Birkir Mar Saevarsson sent off after Declan Rice and Mason Mount had put England in control in their final Nations League fixture
Thursday 19 November 2020 06:22, UK
Phil Foden struck twice as England's young stars shone in a 4-0 thrashing of 10-man Iceland in the Nations League at Wembley on Wednesday.
England were unable to qualify for the competition's knockout phase following Sunday's defeat to Belgium but the players were intent on finishing on a high, and after first-half goals from Declan Rice (20) and Mason Mount (24) got the ball rolling, Foden cashed in when Birkir Mar Saevarsson was sent off on 54 minutes.
Each goal scorer is 21 or under and there will be hope that trio, along with England's other rising talents, can continue to improve and develop ahead of next summer's European Championships, where they will need to overcome far stronger opposition than this Iceland side.
With Belgium's 4-2 win over Denmark in the group's other fixture earning them top spot and a place in the Nations League finals, Gareth Southgate's attentions will now turn to March's World Cup qualifiers and Euro 2020, knowing there are still question marks over his best system and strongest XI.
Despite England being guaranteed third in Group A2 and Iceland already relegated, it was feisty early on, with Saevarsson booked for clattering into Bukayo Saka and Kyle Walker shown a yellow for a similar challenge on Runar Mar Sigurjonsson inside the opening 13 minutes.
It was a foul which led to England breaking the deadlock, too, with Victor Palsson clipping the impressive Jack Grealish on the edge of the area before Rice scored off his shoulder from Phil Foden's free-kick for his first international goal.
England would have doubled their lead almost instantly had Ogmundur Kristinsson not reacted well to Saka's mis-kicked shot but they did not have to wait long for the second, with Mount reacting sharply to a loose ball in the box to slot home.
The waves of England attacks just kept on coming from that point with Harry Kane shooting over, Foden drilling at Kristinsson and then seeing another drive tipped round the post by the Iceland goalkeeper. Kane then dug out a low shot which deflected just past the woodwork before firing another effort wide of the far post.
England's task got easier after the break when Saevarsson was shown a second yellow card and sent off for a tug on Saka on 54 minutes, although it was Iceland next to go close, with Kari Arnason heading wide from a corner after losing Walker.
Arnason was back on defensive duty soon after, though, cutting out Grealish's cutback for Kane, who continued to be frustrated until his substitution on 76 minutes - but then the goals flowed for Foden and England.
The first came from some brilliant wing play from substitute Jadon Sancho, who skipped into the box before teeing up Foden to sweep home (80), and the Man City ace - who was sent home from international duty in September after breaching coronavirus rules in Iceland - made it two four minutes later, lashing into the bottom corner from 20 yards out.
There could have been more, with Harry Maguire trying his luck and Saka heading wide, but the final result reflected England's dominance and ensured they go into the winter on a positive note as the preparations for next summer build.
England manager Gareth Southgate: "Whenever you play for England there is something to play for, there are big opportunities for young players especially, but also for some older players. We are trying to build and improve all the time, and there was some lovely football that was good to watch and, of course, for the young ones to get the goals, it was special for them.
"The reality is that a lot of the squad we've had over the last three months are going to peak in three to five years' time, that's when they will have a lot of caps, a lot of experience internationally and more club experience. We think it's worth investing the time in them and they are learning a lot from some very good senior professionals.
"If it's a headache about having good players, it's a nice one to have."
Neat and tidy with his touch as ever - although perhaps deeper than he would have liked early on - but pinpoint with his free-kick assist for Rice's opener and could have scored with a close-range drive on 30 minutes. Played in higher positions from then on and swept home with 10 minutes to play before crashing in a second. Then brought out the party tricks...
"Tonight's performance is why we picked him in September because we know what he is capable of," Southgate said of the 20-year-old. "I'm really pleased for him and his family, to have the experience he had in September is really tough for a youngster and we all make mistakes.
"What we were intent on doing was making sure that when he came in this month in a difficult situation, you are walking in the door and you're looking at everybody's faces and you know the last time you saw them it was complicated.
"It took him a few days I think to settle into the camp and start to smile and relax a bit more - then tonight we felt was a really good game for him. We know what he is capable of doing and he is one who is going to be exciting
for the next few years for England."
Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher described Foden as a "class act".
"We're sort of almost waiting for him to nail down or grab hold of a position with England, maybe in the same way we are with Manchester City. But he's got great quality.
"It was nice to see him, Mason Mount and Jack Grealish all interchanging positions."
