REYKJAVIK • Iceland will forever bear a scar for English football, after an embarrassing exit at Euro 2016 to a country with a population of less than 1 per cent the pool on offer to the Three Lions.
Four years on, the nations meet today in the Nations League for the first time since that fateful night in Nice, with the visitors in Reykjavik a much-changed side.
Only six of the England squad who lost in the round of 16 in that tournament remain.
Among them, captain Harry Kane, 27, and Raheem Sterling, 25, are now the senior figures in a squad filled with youth, flair and far less fear than the side who were racked by self-doubt after falling 2-1 behind just 18 minutes into that famous defeat by Iceland.
Phil Foden, 20, and Mason Greenwood, 18, have been handed their first senior call-ups after impressing for Manchester City and Manchester United respectively since football returned from the coronavirus shutdown in June.
They could be two of the beneficiaries of the one-year delay to the European Championship, with England one of the favourites for a tournament they will largely play on home soil next summer.
"They are realistic challengers," said England boss Gareth Southgate about Foden and Greenwood's prospects for Euro 2020.
Both will have to fight their way into one of the most star-studded front lines in world football, one which already boasts Kane, Sterling, Greenwood's United teammate Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho of Borussia Dortmund.
Southgate added: "We're a year away from a European Championship, let's see if they can break into that team. It gives us great competition for places."
Neither player seems to lack confidence when it comes to making an impact on international football.
Greenwood has been hailed by former England greats Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney for his ability to finish clinically with either foot. He scored 19 goals in his breakthrough season.
Foden also has lofty ambitions as he hopes to be the man to fill David Silva's shoes at City next season.
Named player of the tournament when England won the Under-17 World Cup three years ago, he has already experienced success at international level.
He and England's new generation still have to prove themselves at senior level, but they are providing far more cause for optimism than the crop that will forever be remembered for crumbling to Iceland.
Meanwhile, Spain captain Sergio Ramos has praised his side for not giving up the fight, as Jose Luis Gaya snatched a late point in their 1-1 Nations League draw with Germany in Stuttgart on Thursday.
The Germans were seconds away from victory in the League A, Group 4 clash after Chelsea's new signing Timo Werner gave the hosts a second-half lead, only for Gaya to tap home a Rodrigo Moreno header in the sixth minute of added time.
"We fought until the end. It was a good test for the start of the season," said Ramos to German broadcaster ZDF.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
