November 10 – England and Iceland could end up playing their Nations League clash on November 18 more than 1,000 miles away in Albania.
Albania has emerged as the leading candidate to host the game which is in doubt because of the UK government’s new travel ban on arrivals from Denmark. Iceland are set to play Denmark in Copenhagen three days before facing England at Wembley.
As things stand now, Iceland’s squad would be denied entry, hence the search for a neutral venue. But if Albania is chosen, England’s players face returning home in the early hours of the morning just two days before the Premier League restart the following weekend.
England’s football authorities are locked in talks with the government over how to resolve the impasse.
Under the new rules, any UK-based players returning from Denmark would have to self-isolate for 14 days due to concerns over a strain of Covid-19 in Denmark that has spread from mink to humans.
UEFA’s coronavirus protocols state that international matches can either be rescheduled or be played at a neutral venue if necessary.
Germany is reported to be another possible alternative venue while back in August UEFA announced that four countries – Poland, Hungary, Greece and Cyprus – had offered to step in should Covid-19 travel restrictions prevent matches from being played at their original venues.
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