Iceland review - 2015, Page 75

ICELAND REVIEW 73
In early September, the Icelandic national men’s football team made history by qualifying
for a major championship, the UEFA Euro 2016 in France, for the first time.
DREAM TEAM
The Icelandic squad is full of quality players, like strik-
er Kolbeinn Sigþórsson (Nantes, FR); up front, the attack-
ing midfield player—and the county’s top scorer—Gylfi Þór
Sigurðsson (Swansea, UK); midfielder Birkir Bjarnason (Basel,
CH); defender Kári Árnason (Malmö FF, SE); goalkeeper
Hannes Halldórsson (NEC, NL); and of course the super sub,
37-year-old Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen, former Chelsea and
Barcelona star, now attacking midfielder at Shijiazhuang Ever
Bright in China.
Euro 2016 qualifying Group A, which Iceland tops, was not
an easy one with The Netherlands—the World Cup bronze
medalists—in the group, along with two other strong teams, the
Czech Republic and Turkey, plus Latvia and Kazakhstan.
But Iceland started out well in September last year by beat-
ing Turkey 3-0 at home, and one month later Latvia in an
away game, also by three goals, and then The Netherlands a
few days later, at home at Laugardalsvöllur, 2-0. In November
came the first and only game Iceland has lost so far, 2-0
against the Czech Republic in Plzen. This March, Iceland beat
Kazakhstan in Astana 3-0, and in June, the Czech Republic 2-1
in Reykjavík. The biggest victory was against The Netherlands
this September, when Iceland beat them 1-0 in Amsterdam. It
was the first qualifying defeat The Netherlands had suffered at
home since they lost against Portugal in 1990, a quarter of a
century ago.
The national team’s success has moved the nation. Now
people are asking for a new and bigger state-of-the-art football
stadium, seating 25,000 people, in the heart of the capital. The
old Laugardalsvöllur only seats 10,000 and games sell out in
seconds.
And there is serious talk in town about nominating Lars as the
next president of the Republic of Iceland. The next presidential
election will take place in June, when Iceland will be playing and
winning—at least the nation’s heart—at the UEFA Euro 2016
in France. *
SPORT
Striker Kolbeinn Sigþórsson taking a shot
in Iceland vs. Kazakhstan in Reykjavík,
September 6, 2015.