SM
Watford vs. Oxford Utd: 9 hrs 27 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
EN
Nations League | League A
Nov 18, 2020 at 7.45pm UK
Wembley Stadium
IN

England
4 - 0
Iceland

Rice (20'), Mount (24'), Foden (80', 84')
Walker (13')
FT(HT: 2-0)

England's UEFA Nations League match against Iceland will take place at Wembley

:Headline: England's UEFA Nations League match against Iceland will take place at Wembley: ID:422059: from db_amp
The visitors have been granted a travel exemption by the UK government.

England's Nations League match against Iceland next week will be played at Wembley after the UK Government granted a travel exemption to the visiting side.

The venue of the Three Lions' group finale – and final fixture of 2020 – has been in doubt due to issues arising from Iceland's game in Copenhagen on Sunday.

Denmark has been subject of a travel ban since November 7 due to concerns over a new strain of Covid-19, putting the Wembley encounter in jeopardy as the Football Association looked at instead hosting the game in Germany.

The PA news agency understands Albania was another option put forward by UEFA, but the national stadium in London has now been given the green light to host the match next Wednesday.

The FA said in a statement: "We are pleased to confirm that following discussions with the relevant authorities next Wednesday's UEFA Nations League fixture against Iceland will go ahead at Wembley Stadium."

The Government exemption was announced on Thursday evening, when it was confirmed that the travel ban on Denmark had been extended "for a further 14 days following an outbreak of coronavirus in mink farms".

The Department for Transport said: "The government has also announced a limited exemption for a small number of Danish and Icelandic national football players to travel from the UK to Copenhagen and back, without the need to self-isolate, to take part in upcoming international football fixtures.

"This temporary and extremely limited exemption will allow the relevant players and essential staff support to be exempt from the new requirements and will help reduce any disruption for England's upcoming Nations League fixtures."

The news is welcome for Gareth Southgate's men and the FA, which pleaded with Government to allow the match to be held at Wembley in order to protect their players and save costs.

The news is good news for Gareth Southgate and his team (Tim Goode/PA)

The match against Iceland could decide whether England qualify for the knockout stages of the Nations League, but home advantage was not the primary concern.

"We are not asking for this support to help us have home advantage in this competitive international match, although of course that would be helpful," the FA said on Thursday morning.

"We are not asking for this support to avoid a huge cost from playing an England home match in Germany, although we can ill afford the financial penalty at this time.

"The priority must be health, which is why we are asking for this support.

"We believe it's in the better interests of the England team and support staff to play at Wembley Stadium rather than have international travel at this time – and then play the match under the same UEFA protocols against the same opposition, but in a different country."

amp_article__422059 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-11-12 18:40:52:
html db last update - 2020-11-12 18:40:52 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Coronavirus outbreak - Click here for more stories

Click here for more stories about England

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .