Appearing for the first time at a major competition at UEFA EURO 2016, Iceland managed to put behind coming really close to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. They have reached the play-off stage, only to be eliminated by - Croatia, despite a firm resistance.
Nonetheless, Iceland secured its EURO 2016 berth in a difficult group including Czech Republic, Turkey, Netherlands, Kazakhstan, and Latvia, beating Netherlands on both occasions. Icelandic celebrations were a worldwide sensation, yet it proved to be only the beginning.
Playing future champions Portugal, Austria, and Hungary, Iceland progressed to the second round with a win and two draws. In Nice, on 27 June 2016, Iceland played Round of 16 match against England, and delighted the entire country by a comeback to win 2:1. The euphoric Icelanders celebrated with a specific, now widely recognized fans' chant.
"This will be a day we'll talk about for the rest of our lives", explained Heimir Hallgrimsson, one of two Iceland managers in France, cooperating with the Swede Lars Lagerback, who is credited as one of the authors of Icelandic success. Following the EURO 2016, and the defeat by the host nation in the quarterfinals, Hallgrimsson took over the manager role.
Iceland, the smallest nation to ever play at a major football competition, currently holds the No. 21 at FIFA Rankings - the best ever position in their history. Icelandic intentions in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying were confirmed by a draw at Ukraine (1:1) and home victories over Turkey (2:0) and Finland (3:2).
The Icelanders have played its first unofficial international match in 1930 and won at Faroe Islands 1:0, while their first FIFA recognized match dates back to 1946 and the loss to Denmark 3:0. However, the domestic league was founded back in 1912.
Icelandic icon Eidur Gudjohnsen, who played for both Chelsea and Barcelona throughout his club career, is the national team top goalscorer with 26 goals in 88 matches. He has also rewritten history books in 1996, when he substituted his father Arnor in a friendly against Estonia in Tallinn. That was the first time that a father and his son played in the same international match.
Runar Kristinsson holds the record of most appearances (104), while the second player on the list is well-known Hermann Hreidarsson, a former Wimbledon, Ipswich, Charlton, and Portsmouth player. However, new Iceland stars - including Gylfi and Ragnar Sigurdsson, Aron Gunnarsson, Birkir Bjarnason, Kolbeinn Sigthorsson, and others - are very much motivated to prove themselves further, and to achieve even more success.
