Nakon što je izborio vizu za Rusiju, Island je postao najmanja zemlja koja je ikad izborila plasman na Svjetsko prvenstvo. Islanđana ima oko 340.00, a do sada je rekord držao Trinidad i Tobago koji ima 1.3 milijuna stanovnika.
U Rusiji ih vodi bivši stomatolog Heimir Hallgrimsson (51) koji je rastao s islandskim nogometom. Prvo je bio u ženskom nogometu, pa suradnik Larsa Lagerbacka, a nakon EP-a u Francuskoj je dobio i sam priliku voditi reprezentaciju. Za sada to radi odlično jer se Island po prvi put u povijesti plasirao na World Cup.
“U Rusiji smo došli uživati. Imamo čast sudjelovati na najvećem nogometnom natjecanju na svijetu,” poručio je islandski strateg.
Premda su na World Cup stigli bez imperativa, Islanđani uoči zadnjeg kola imaju priliku za prolaz u osminu finala. Za to im treba pobjeda protiv Hrvatske i pobjeda Argentine protiv Nigerije. Tada bi Islanđani bili bodovno poravnati s Argentinom pa bi odlučivala razlika pogodaka. Islanda je trenutačno na -2, a Argentina na -3.
“Prije početka SP-a svi su pisali kako imamo tešku skupinu i kako nemamo izgleda za prolaz. Međutim, upravo je to bilo ono što želimo, velike i jake utakmice kao što je Argentina. Prva utakmica u povijesti na svjetskom prvenstvu je bila Argentina,” kazao je veznjak Olafur Ingi Skulason.
Islanđani sve grade na momčadskom duhu i zajedništvu. Nemaju previše zvijezda, a svakako prvo ime momčadi je veznjak Evertona Gylfi Sigurdsson kojeg posebno pamte u Hajduku nakon što im je u Splitu zabio gol gotovo s centra i tako zatvorio vrata Europe.
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- epa06812984 Alfred Finnbogason of Iceland celebrates after scoring the 1-1 goal during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group D preliminary round soccer match between Argentina and Iceland in Moscow, Russia, 16 June 2018. (RESTRICTIONS APPLY: Editorial Use Only, not used in association with any commercial entity – Images must not be used in any form of alert service or push service of any kind including via mobile alert services, downloads to mobile devices or MMS messaging – Images must appear as still images and must not emulate match action video footage – No alteration is made to, and no text or image is superimposed over, any published image which: (a) intentionally obscures or removes a sponsor identification image; or (b) adds or overlays the commercial identification of any third party which is not officially associated with the FIFA World Cup) EPA/PETER POWELL EDITORIAL USE ONLY EPA-EFE/PETER POWELL EDITORIAL USE ONLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY
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- epa06812989 Players of Iceland celebrate the 1-1 goal during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group D preliminary round soccer match between Argentina and Iceland in Moscow, Russia, 16 June 2018. (RESTRICTIONS APPLY: Editorial Use Only, not used in association with any commercial entity – Images must not be used in any form of alert service or push service of any kind including via mobile alert services, downloads to mobile devices or MMS messaging – Images must appear as still images and must not emulate match action video footage – No alteration is made to, and no text or image is superimposed over, any published image which: (a) intentionally obscures or removes a sponsor identification image; or (b) adds or overlays the commercial identification of any third party which is not officially associated with the FIFA World Cup) EPA/PETER POWELL EDITORIAL USE ONLY
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- epa06023259 Iceland’s Gylfi Sigurdsson (L) and Croatia’s Luka Modric (R) stand on the pitch during the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifying soccer match between Iceland and Croatia in Reykjavik, Iceland, 11 June 2017. EPA/Birgir Thor Hardarson ICELAND OUT
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- epa06023258 Iceland’s Ragnar Sigurdsson (L) heads the ball during the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifying soccer match between Iceland and Croatia in Reykjavik, Iceland, 11 June 2017. EPA/Birgir Thor Hardarson ICELAND OUT
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- epa05573744 Iceland’s Alfred Finnbogason celebrates a goal during the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifying soccer match between Iceland and Finland at Laugardalsvollur stadium in Reykjavik, Iceland, 06 October 2016. EPA/Birgir Thor Hardarson ICELAND OUT
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- epa05407967 Iceland supporters attend a welcoming ceremony for their national soccer team players in Reykjavik, Iceland, 04 July 2016. The Icelandic team returned to Reykjavik after losing 2-5 to France in the UEFA EURO 2016 quarter final match at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, 03 July 2016. EPA/ASGEIR VALGERDARSON ICELAND OUT
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- epa05395183 Players of Iceland celebrate their 2-1 lead during the UEFA EURO 2016 round of 16 match between England and Iceland at Stade de Nice in Nice, France, 27 June 2016. (RESTRICTIONS APPLY: For editorial news reporting purposes only. Not used for commercial or marketing purposes without prior written approval of UEFA. Images must appear as still images and must not emulate match action video footage. Photographs published in online publications (whether via the Internet or otherwise) shall have an interval of at least 20 seconds between the posting.) EPA/SEBASTIEN NOGIER EDITORIAL USE ONLY
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- epa05383953 Iceland’s Ari Skulason in action during the UEFA EURO 2016 group F preliminary round match between Iceland and Austria at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, 22 June 2016. (RESTRICTIONS APPLY: For editorial news reporting purposes only. Not used for commercial or marketing purposes without prior written approval of UEFA. Images must appear as still images and must not emulate match action video footage. Photographs published in online publications (whether via the Internet or otherwise) shall have an interval of at least 20 seconds between the posting.) EPA/SRDJAN SUKI EDITORIAL USE ONLY
Island je prije dvije godine u Francuskoj bio jedna od najljepših priča EP-a. Senzacionalno su dogurali do četvrtfinala nakon što su u skupini bili ispred kasnijeg europskog prvaka Portugala, a u osmini finala izbacili Englesku. Njihovu sjajnu priču zaključila je Francuska u četvrtfinalu. U Francuskoj su oduševili i njihovi navijači s poznatim hukom s tribina.
“Podrška naših navijača je nevjerojatna. Svi dišu uz nas,” kazao je vratar Runar Runarsson, dok je Gylfi Sigurdsson dodao: “Jednostavno smo jedinstveni kao skupina.”
Island je posljednjih godina napravio veliki nogometni iskorak. Svi treneri koji rade s mlađim kategorijama moraju imati UEFA-inu licencu. Mnogo su uložili u dvorane kako bi mogli trenirati i cijele godine. Osim toga umjetni tereni su napravljeni u svim većim gradovima u zemlji.
“Sada možemo kvalitetno trenirati cijele godine bez obzira na vremenske uvjete. Nogomet je i do sada bio popularan, ali nakon EP-a u Francuskoj doživio je bum,” kazao je trener U-16 reprezentacije Freyr Sverrissson.
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