England vs Iceland LIVE: Team news and latest Euros warm-up updates

“There’s some disappointment today but there’ll be a lot of excitement about players we’ve selected and to see some of the players who mean we’ve got a different look about us in terms of how we play, and I think people will be captivated by that,” Southgate said, “As I’ve said, I’m trying to conduct myself respectfully because of the players who have gone today. But equally I’m hugely excited about the squad we’ve picked.”

“I spoke to some of the boys last night and some today. As early as we were able to once we had made decisions. Once we had made clear decisions we tried to make those decisions as quickly as we could really.”

The manager has cut a raft of high-profile names, having already axed Marcus Rashford, Jordan Henderson and Ben Chilwell from his training squad.

Emerging talent such as Adam Wharton, his Crystal Palace teammate Eberechi Eze and Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon are all set to make the final squad.

England beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0 St James’ Park on Monday, and will play Iceland at Wembley on Friday in their last warm-up before the tournament. The squad must be submitted to Uefa by midnight after the game, before the Football Association announces the 26 who made the cut for the European Championship in Germany the following day.

Southgate’s side are one of the favourites to lift the trophy on 14 July, given their recent record in major tournaments and the outstanding formof their attacking players this season including Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden.

Below is a closer look at who is heading to the Euros, and who has missed out.

Addressing the squad announcement at a press conference, Southgate said the reason Grealish and Maddison had not been included was because other players had better seasons.

“All the players took the news really respectfully,” said Southgate, “Of course, all players will believe they should be in and that’s why they are top players.

“They have that self-belief and mindset, but the fact is we have some players who have been playing extremely well all season in the league.

“We just feel other players had stronger seasons, particularly in the last six months or so. Attacking areas, in particular, we’re blessed with a lot of options, all slightly different.

“Madders and Jack both give us something different as well. They’ve been tough calls, calls that we as a group have gone over and over and over. We back our decisions, but recognise we could have gone a different route.”

Gareth Southgate named an initial 33-man training squad that needed trimming to 26 players by 11pm on Friday, just over an hour after the final friendly against Iceland finishes.

But rather than wait until Uefa’s deadline, the England boss decided to announce the final cut on the eve of the Wembley send-off.

Gareth Southgate is still shuffling his pack as players attempt to recover from injury with Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw out of action. Anthony Gordon may be risked as a second half substitute but only if he is in the manager’s plans to take to Euro 2024.

Bukayo Saka and John Stones are back after their precautionary rest periods and should play a part in the game while Phil Foden, Kobbie Mainoo and Kyle Walker are all available for selection. After winning the Champions League with Real Madrid, Jude Bellingham has joined up with the squad but is likely to miss the match as Southgate will want him rested.

One interesting choice for the England boss is who will sub in at centre-back for Maguire. Marc Guehi is the obvious pick but Southgate may be tempted to offer Lewis Dunk or Ezri Konsa a pick ahead of the first game of the tournament.

Tonight’s match takes place at Wembley, with kick off at 7.45pm BST. It will be broadcast on Channel 4, with coverage starting at 7pm.

Subscribers can also stream the game via Channel 4’s website and app free of charge, with a sign-up via email all that is needed.

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Find out everything you need to know about the game below.

Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live text coverage of tonight’s match between England and Iceland.

The England boss has already announced the squad that will take part in the competition with James Maddison is one of the bigger names to miss out. Jack Grealish’s omission meanwhile took most people by surprise while Harry Maguire hasn’t recovered from injury in time to feature.

The Three Lions took on Bosnia and Herzegovina earlier this week running out 3-0 winners at St. James’ Park with goals for Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harry Kane. An experimental line-up saw Alexander-Arnold start alongside Conor Gallagher in midfield but it is expected Southgate will go with a more traditional looking side against Iceland to get some playing time in for his first choice picks.