Gareth Southgate laments England’s lack of character during Iceland defeat
The IndependentSign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The home side’s last match before Euro 2024 ended in boos at the final whistle after Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson’s goal was enough to give Iceland a shock win. “We learned a lot and we know the performance wasn’t good enough,” Southgate told Channel 4. “Equally we needed the game; there’s a lot of players that we’re managing their minutes and it was obviously a disjointed and disappointing performance and we didn’t show enough character. “No excuses on the result, we have to be better than that, but I think there are a lot of things we can put right pretty quickly.” Southgate, who said he expects defender John Stones to be “OK” after he was replaced at half-time with an ankle injury, insists his side will be ready for the start of tournament action in Germany in nine days’ time.