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Ogmundur Kristinsson (left) will play a pivotal role in Iceland’s efforts to make the second round of this year’s FIFA World Cup (photo credit: Debbie von Wincklemann)
Population: 350,710
Capital: Reykjavik
Team Colors: Blue and Red
How Qualified: Won UEFA Group C
Nickname: Strákarnir okkar (Our Boys)
1st World Cup
Head Coach: Heimir Hallgrimsson (ISL)
Key Players: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton), Aron Gunnarsson (Cardiff City), Kolbeinn Sigborsson (Nantes), Alfred Finnbogason (Augsburg)
Best Performance: First World Cup
Can they emulate their performance at Euro 2016? That performance of course, was their improbable run to the quarterfinals of that tournament. That included holding Portugal, shocking England, and hanging tough with France before bowing out.
For World Cup Qualifying, they were placed in a tricky group with Croatia, Turkey, and Ukraine. All they did was go on and win the group and qualify automatically to become smallest country by population to reach the World Cup.
The draw did them no favors as they will start with Argentina, then Nigeria, and then a rematch with Croatia. That is not going to stop Icelanders of dreaming of making it to the next stage of the competition.
None of this has came out of the blue. Given their climate, Iceland built indoor facilities so soccer can be played year-round. The number of UEFA licensed coaches increased. They quietly built an infrastructure for the national program to be competitive on the grand stages and we are seeing the fruits of this labor. One reward is being in the top division of groups for the upcoming UEFA Nations Cup.
In the here and now, Iceland will have their work cut out for them in Group D. However, don’t count them out and don’t be surprised if you keep hearing the Viking Clap into the knockout stages.
Schedule:
June 16: vs. Argentina in Moscow (Spartak) (8am CT on FOX/Telemundo)
June 22: vs. Nigeria in Volgograd (10am CT on FOX/Telemundo)
June 26: vs. Croatia in Rostov-on-Don (1pm CT on FS1/NBC Universo)
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