Raheem Sterling penalty seals England victory against Iceland after dramatic finale in Nations League clash

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Jack Rosser @JackRosser_5 September 2020

Raheem Sterling ensured England returned to the international stage with a win after his 90th minute penalty spared the Three Lions from a painful draw against Iceland.

Gareth Southgate’s side - beginning their Nations League campaign after lockdown - had toiled to break down Iceland after Harry Kane had seen a sixth minute goal incorrectly ruled out for offside, before their task was made even harder with a red card for Kyle Walker in the second half.

Sterling won and converted a late spot-kick, but England rode their luck further when Joe Gomez gave away a stoppage time penalty only to be let off the hook with it blasted over the bar.

The Three Lions hadn’t played since a 4-0 win over Kosovo ten months ago before kicking off in Reykjavik, with plenty of fresh faces handed a chance by Southgate.

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In midfield, Manchester City’s Phil Foden was handed his England debut at the first time of asking while alongside him James Ward-Prowse was given a first start. Walker - back in from the cold after a summer of very public lockdown breaches, Eric Dier and Kieran Trippier, covering at left-back, started to bring some experience to the side at the back.

Iceland, who had lost Kolbeinn Sigthorsson - the man who scored the winner when the hosts dumped England out of Euro 2016 four years ago - before kick-off, started physically but should have been behind inside ten minutes. Kane met Tripper’s cross at the far post and managed to squeeze the ball past Hannes Halldorsson - only for the goal to be incorrectly ruled out for offside - no VAR in use this evening.

The hosts sat deep, their penalty box crammed with blue shirts leaving England very little to work with. Down the right, Jadon Sancho was getting the better of Hordur Magnusson time and again while some neat passing between Foden and Ward-Prowse almost had Iceland wide open.

England were being frustrated but Southgate has preached patience, using the example of the infamous meeting between these two sides in Nice four years ago to ensure his side stuck to the game plan instead of throwing everything they’ve worked on out the window.

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The Three Lions stuck to their guns, looking to craft chances with short sharp passing, Iceland rarely threatening.

They caused some concern when a loose ball allowed Albert Gudmundsson to charge forward and be brought down by Walker, conceding a free-kick in a dangerous spot and earning his first booking, but with Gylfi Sigurdsson still sat on Merseyside having decided against joining up with the squad this time around, the chance was passed up.

Iceland’s physicality turned the first half into a bitty affair, England needing to grasp back some sort of hold on the game following the restart. They upped the tempo but still struggled to create clear chances for Kane, who - playing his first minutes since the end of last season having had to quarantine following his holiday - started to tire around the hour mark. Southgate stuck with his captain for a while more, but added Danny Ings alongside him in the place of Phil Foden.

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Southgate’s plan to unlock the Iceland defence was turned upside down when Walker slid in and caught Iceland’s Arnor Ingvi Traustason, prompting Serbian referee Srdjan Jovanovic to hand the Manchester City defender a second yellow and leave England a man short as they pushed for a winner.

Despite England losing a man, Iceland remained on the back foot - parked in their own half, continuing to ask the Three Lions to break them down. Looking to do so, Southgate removed a weary Kane and introduced Mason Greenwood for his debut.

England continued to push, despite legs tiring with every minute that passed Sterling continued to look for a way through. His weaving run had won a corner, from which he volleyed goalward and saw it blocked by Sverrir Ingason - who was deemed to have handled the ball and was himself dismissed after a second yellow card. With Kane having been hooked, Sterling himself stood up and rolled home - seemingly saving England’s blushes.

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Seconds later, though, Iceland were back in with a chance after Gomez was adjudged to have fouled Gudmundsson in the box. England and Gomez were spared further embarrassment when Birkir Bjarnason blazed his penalty over the bar.

It was far from perfect, though few expected a barnstormer with an international break during pre-season, but Southgate will simply be happy to have his players back.