Nations League: England beats Iceland 1-0 after dramatic end

Four years later, England has gained a measure of revenge for one of the most embarrassing results in its history.

Raheem Sterling converted a penalty in the first minute of second-half stoppage time as England beat tiny Iceland 1-0 in their opening Nations League group game on Saturday.

Yet, there was still time for Iceland — a Nordic nation with a population of 330,000 — to earn a penalty of its own seconds after the restart.

Birkir Bjarnason missed the target, though, allowing England’s players to breathe a sigh of relief.

In 2016, England was humiliated by losing 2-1 to Iceland in the last 16 of the European Championship, a score line the country which invented the game still struggles to live down.

With England’s players severely short of match sharpness for this match, failing to beat Iceland wouldn’t have come close on the shock levels of four years ago but the visitors were still heavily favored to win in an empty stadium in Reykjavik.

Aside from a seventh-minute goal from Harry Kane that was incorrectly ruled out for offside — VAR was not being used at the game — England didn’t really come close to scoring until Sterling had a shot blocked by the arm of Sverrir Ingi Ingason, who was handed a second yellow card and sent off.

That evened up the team numbers, with Kyle Walker having been sent off in the 70th minute for a second yellow card. The Manchester City right back became the first England player to be red-carded in a competitive fixture in eight years.

Sterling scored from the spot, only for Joe Gomez to give away a foul in England’s area after grappling for a high ball into the area straight after the restart.

Bjarnason sidefooted high and wide.

Image credits: AP