Not even the most optimistic of Iceland football fans could have envisaged this, a quarter-final match-up against host nation France at this year’s European Championship.
A country with a population of just over 330,000 has captured the hearts and imaginations of football fans across the globe in recent weeks as, they escaped the group stage before stunning an underwhelming English side 2-1 last Tuesday morning.
The fairytale continues on Monday at a sold out Stade de France against the host nation, who despite showing glimpses of their best, are yet to hit full throttle in their home tournament.
Co-coach Heimir Hallgrimsson suggests all the pressure is on their opposition.
“We don’t have the pressure of the world (on us) that we need to win the game,” he said.
The Nordic nation will once again enter the match as major underdogs, but they are by no means there just to make up the numbers. The biggest asset of Iceland is their passion for the game, the ability to work towards a collective goal, an ideology which has seen them progress this far.
It is hard to pick out a single player who has stood out for the Strakarnir okkar (Our Boys) during the course of this tournament.
Their ability to work collectively was at the forefront of their come-from-behind victory against England, as serious questions were raised of their ability to work their way back into the game when they fell behind to a Wayne Rooney penalty in the early stages.
The Icelandic team quickly regathered their composure to equalise just a few minutes later through Ragnar Sigurdsson before Kolbeinn Sigthorsson scored what turned out to be the winner in the 18th minute.
The ability to not just roll over against the bigger teams in the competition is a testament to their mental strength. The depth of the Iceland squad has yet to be tested at Euro 2016 with the management team electing to field the same starting line-up in their four games thus far.
While they may not create chance after chance Iceland have shown a strong attacking ability as a team throughout the tournament. Lars Lagerback and Hallgrimsson’s men will look to sit deep and hit teams on the counter-attack and the French must be wary of this.
Having scored six goals in their four games at the tournament so far, do not count Iceland out from causing French captain Hugo Lloris problems throughout the ninety minutes. At the other end of the pitch is where Iceland will be hoping to tighten up for Monday morning’s encounter having conceded four goals at the tournament.
This will be music to the ears of the French side who have a wealth of world-class attacking talent at their disposal including the likes of Antoine Griezmann who finished with a brace in the round of 16 win against the Republic of Ireland.
Late goals have been a feature at this year’s tournament, and the host nation is no stranger to scoring late goals meaning a full 90-minute, resolute defensive display is needed by the less-fancied Icelandic team.
Iceland shot-stopper Hannes Halldorsson’s performance in the match could go a long way to determining the result as he currently leads the tournament in saves made with 23.
With everything we have seen in the world of football in the past 12 months, it would be no surprise to see Iceland once again upset a major nation in France.
All we can do now as neutrals is cross our fingers and hope Iceland can take the next step to the summit of the Euro 2016 mountain.
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