Scotland falls short, England experiences humiliation.
England's soccer team experiences a shocking defeat just before the European Championship. Although they had many regular players in the starting lineup, they lost to Iceland. Scotland also struggled to build confidence.
Captain Harry Kane and title contenders England faltered during the warm-up game for the European Championship. In the final test against Iceland, the Three Lions - with the Bayern Munich striker - lost 0:1 (0:1) and failed to impress across the board. Jon Dogur Thorsteinsson (12.) put the visitors ahead at Wembley Stadium early, and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale didn't perform well - the same could be said for his teammates. The opportunity for a comeback was missed first by Kane with a volley shot after a pass from Cole Palmer (28.). In the second half, Palmer missed alone in front of the goal (54.).
Since the 3:0 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday with most regulars initially absent, manager Gareth Southgate relied from the beginning on Kane and Co. - with eight changes in the starting lineup. Jude Bellingham from Champions League winner Real Madrid was not present. England starts the European Championship on June 16th in Gelsenkirchen against Serbia. Other opponents in Group C are Denmark and Slovenia.
Scotland displayed significant weaknesses a week before their opener against the German national team. In Glasgow, they drew 2:2 (0:0) against Finland in a warm-up match. After an own goal by Arttu Hoskonen (54.) and a header goal by Lawrence Shankland (58.), it seemed that the German opponent was on the verge of victory. However, Benjamin Källman (72.) and Oliver Antman (85., penalty kick) managed to salvage a draw.
Unlike the difficult 2:0 win against Gibraltar, the only victory after seven unsuccessful matches, coach Steve Clarke made changes in five positions. The Scots had possession often, but they were rarely threatening. Thus, the Finns helped create their own goal: After a pass from Andy Robertson, Hoskonen struck the ball awkwardly for his goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo. But the draw wasn't enough, as the defense faltered towards the end.
Scotland faces Germany as the first opponent in the group stage on June 14th in Munich. In addition, they play against Switzerland on June 19th in Cologne and Hungary on June 23rd in Stuttgart. The European Championship warm-up match takes place on Friday at 8:45 p.m. in Glasgow against Finland.
Poland, with top striker Robert Lewandowski, has demonstrated strong performances ahead of the European Championship. In Warsaw, the team led by coach Michal Probierz beat Ukraine 3:1 (3:1). Sebastian Walukiewicz (11th), Piotr Zielinski (16th) and Taras Romanczuk (30th) provided a comfortable lead. Artem Dowbyk (41st) reduced the deficit for the Ukrainians, who had previously tied against the German team.
Lewandowski remained on the bench initially and was substituted in the 61st minute. On Monday, Poland will play against Turkey (8:45 p.m.) in the tournament's warm-up match. In the challenging Group D, the Probierz team faces the Netherlands, Austria and France.
