Gareth Southgate hopes England's defeat to Iceland will serve as wake-up call before Euro 2024 - ‘It’s good for us'

Gareth Southgate hopes that England’s 1-0 friendly defeat to Iceland at Wembley will serve as a wake-up call ahead of Euro 2024.

The Three Lions produced a meek display in the final warm-up match before UEFA Euro 2024, and while Southgate says there can be "no excuses" for the result, he remains upbeat ahead of their opener against Serbia on June 16.

"It was obviously a disjointed and disappointing performance, and we didn't show enough character, but I think it's good for us before an international tournament,” Southgate told Channel 4.

"I think we've got to be better without the ball. I think that there were a lot of reasons for that, and across the two games we probably haven't had our full side out across any two games. We've been able to look at people, we've been able to learn about the balance of the team.

"I've been involved in a lot of last matches leading into a tournament. Inevitably, players have one eye on what's coming in terms of early challenges. No excuses on the result, but there are a lot of things we can put right quickly."

Arguably the most worrying moment of the evening came when John Stones was withdrawn at the break, but Southgate offered reassurances that the decision to take off the Manchester City defender was "mainly precautionary".

"He took a bit of a knock to the ankle really early in the game, but at half-time there was no point taking any chance," Southgate added to the BBC.

"We're too close to the start of the tournament, there's no point risking it."

Declan Rice said "I’m hurting" after the defeat and highlighted the areas where England need to improve ahead of the finals.

Harry Kane and Cole Palmer both missed chances on a lacklustre evening in north London, but Rice feels Iceland gave England an insight as to how teams may set up against them.

“When we have that much of the ball, we have a couple of clear-cut chances and get beat 1-0 at home just before a Euros is not ideal,” he added.

“But there were a lot of positive performances. In the end, it becomes a frustration game, you're chasing your tail a little bit and get caught on the counter-attack. It's not ideal we lost, but there's a lot of learning curves you can build on as a team."

"There's no doubt about our quality on the ball as a collective. Maybe against the teams that sit in, it's about being a bit mentally switched on. I felt at times we were a little stretched, not as compact as we usually are. Inside, I'm hurting and between now and the next game there's work to be done."

The Arsenal midfielder featured for the full 90 minutes alongside Kobbie Mainoo in midfield, and hopes that partnership can continue to flourish in the coming weeks.

“We did it in March, and it was really positive,” he explained.

“I can imagine, because we've lost, some people are saying stuff but that's football these days.

“We're going to learn every game we play. Every game is a chance to learn and get better."

- - -

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media