England Under 21s suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat to their Icelandic counterparts in a friendly at Deepdale.
England U21s surrender lead in friendly at Deepdale
England Under 21s suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat to their Icelandic counterparts in a friendly at Deepdale on Monday night.
Stuart Pearce's youngsters beat Denmark 4-0 last week and had been looking to take another positive step on the road to this summer's European Championship.
However, an under-strength England were beaten by fellow finalists Iceland in Preston despite taking the lead through Nathan Delfouneso after 13 minutes.
Arnor Smarason equalised three minutes before half-time and West Ham's Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson headed home the winner in the 67th minute.
Pearce handed full debuts to Aston Villa defender Nathan Baker and 17-year-old Ipswich striker Connor Wickham while Chelsea midfielder Josh McEachran, so impressive on his previous start against Italy, was given another chance.
Only Alex McCarthy, Kyle Naughton and Ryan Bertrand kept their places from Thursday's trip to Denmark, with Pearce giving some of his fringe players a chance to stake their claim in England's penultimate friendly ahead of this summer's tournament.
The hosts dominated the early stages but it was Iceland, drawn in the opposite group to England in Denmark, who managed the first decent effort on goal when Alfred Finnbogason's 13th-minute shot was parried by McCarthy.
The keeper then collected Bjorn Sigurdarson's follow-up cross, and his distribution was the catalyst for England to take the lead as Danny Rose's pinpoint through ball was coolly dispatched into the bottom corner by Delfouneso.
Control
Pearce's side looked in total control and it seemed only a matter of when they would add to their lead, with the impressive Marc Albrighton causing havoc down the right.
In the 38th minute, a cross from the Villa man was volleyed wide of the near post by McEachran, but four minutes later Iceland levelled with a near replica of England's goal.
Jack Cork was dispossessed by Finnbogason 35 yards out and his pass picked out Smarason, who slotted the ball first time past McCarthy.
Pearce made two changes at half-time, with Scott Loach and Tom Cleverley coming on for McCarthy and Cork, and Cleverley quickly made an impact, crossing for Baker to power a header over the bar.
Wickham, who had offered only fleeting glimpses of his talent, then lashed a volley at Iceland keeper Haraldur Bjornasson from a tight angle as England sought to restore their lead.
The hosts had a narrow escape in the 67th minute, though, when a sloppy touch from Tomkins played in Finnbogason but, after Loach failed to hold onto his shot, the West Ham defender made up for his error by blocking the follow-up from Sigurdarson.
However, it was only a temporary reprieve as, from the resulting corner, Smarason crossed for Eyjolfsson to flick a header just inside the far post.
Harsh
The scoreline was harsh on England, who were being made to pay dearly for their mistakes.
Pearce responded by giving debuts to Adam Hammill and Jordan Spence, while he also brought on Joe Bennett in a triple substitution.
Iceland continued to threaten on the break, though, and Loach had to be alert to deny Sigurdarson with a good block.
Pearce sent on Jordon Mutch for his debut and Scott Sinclair with seven minutes left.
Sinclair almost made the difference, first firing past the post and then seeing his shot superbly kept out by Bjornasson, but there was to be no late twist for the 14,622 fans to cheer.
