England vs Iceland predictions: Three Lions to break Iceland at Wembley
- England have lost just one of their last 13 internationals
- Iceland lost out to Ukraine in the play-offs for the Euros
- Recommended bet: England -2 handicap
After a slow start, a much-changed England side eventually clicked into gear to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-0 in their first warm-up match for the upcoming European Championships and Gareth Southgate will be hoping for a more dominant performance against Iceland at Wembley on Friday.
Goals from Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harry Kane sealed the victory at St James’ Park on Monday night and a stronger starting XI is expected to be named as Southgate looks to get his preferred starters clicking.
Iceland fell at the play-off stages against Ukraine after finishing fourth in qualifying, but the small Nordic nation have happy memories of facing England in recent meetings, having famously eliminated the Three Lions at the round of 16 stage at Euro 2016.
Team news
Luke Shaw is expected to remain on the sidelines as continues to recover from injury, while Harry Maguire and Anthony Gordon are both on the cusp of returns from the treatment room.
However, plenty of Gareth Southgate’s usual suspects will be on course for a return to the Wembley turf, with Kyle Walker, John Stones, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden all expected to feature.
This is Iceland’s first fixture of the international break and so there are no injury concerns for boss Age Hareide to contend with.
Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Arnor Sigurdsson could both be favoured for the Strakarnir Okkar considering they ply their trade in England, while striker Andri Gudjohnsen - son of legendary Icelandic striker Eidur - could start up top.
The stats
England have won three of their four meetings with Iceland, winning both of their 2020 Nations League meetings by an aggregate score of 5-0.
The Three Lions have lost just one of their last nine matches at home.
Iceland have lost six of their last 10 away fixtures, including a 3-0 defeat to Bosnia-Herzegovina in March 2023.
England conceded just four goals in qualifying, a tally only bettered by Portugal (2) and France (3).
Prediction
With a close to full-strength side expected to be named by Gareth Southgate, as well as playing back at Wembley, England will be expected to comfortably see off an Iceland side still reeling from their play-off heartbreak.
England are entering the Euros as the tournament favourites, with an abundance of attacking quality and depth in the squad and they will be wanting to head into Germany with as much confidence and momentum as possible.
Iceland have a tendency to be carved open on the road after conceding, with each of their last six away defeats seeing the Nordic nation pick the ball out of their own net on at least two occasions.
Should the Three Lions grab one goal, they could click into gear and double or triple their rewards and could run away with proceedings at Wembley. A winner in the two-goal handicap market for England looks like a tempting proposition.
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