Icelandic fairytale
The thunderclap is headed to Russia.
Any neutrals looking for a team to get behind at the World Cup shouldn’t look any further than Iceland, a feel-good story of international soccer that just keeps on giving.
With about 330,000 inhabitants, the Nordic country is comfortably the smallest to ever qualify for the tournament. Two years ago, Iceland reached the European Championship for the first time, too, and got to the quarter-finals – famously eliminating England along the way.
The Icelandic fairytale is made more charming by its vociferous and passionate fans, who made the “thunderclap” war chant the soundtrack of that summer in France in 2016. Don’t be surprised if it has the same impact in Russia.
Adding to the legend is the team’s coach, Heimar Hallgrimsson, who combines managing the national team with running a dental surgery clinic in a small
town in Iceland. And a hardworking, selfless group of mostly unheralded players who are simply living out their dream in front of the watching world.
Giving the Icelanders more global attention is the identity of their first opponent in Group D: Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
Here’s a closer look at
the Iceland team:
COACH
Hallgrimsson was the assistant to head coach Lars Lagerback at Euro 2016, and was promoted ahead of the World Cup qualifying campaign when Lagerback stood down. A modest and wellrespected coach in Iceland, Hallgrimsson has managed to keep motivational levels high within the squad after the Euros.
GOALKEEPERS
Hannes Halldorsson is the undisputed No. 1 – and has an interesting back story. He was once a movie director who was behind the music video for his nation’s 2012 Eurovision Song Contest entry.
DEFENDERS
The defence is held together by the centre-back pairing of Ragnar Sigurdsson and Kari Arnason. They are close on the field and off it, having spent the summer of 2015 travelling around Thailand together.
MIDFIELDERS
Bearded captain Aron Gunnarsson is the heartbeat of the team in central midfield. A tough tackler and fearsome-looking figure, he keeps his passing simple and lets the more creative players in the team – Gylfi Sigurdsson and Johann Berg Gudmundsson, for example – do their thing.
FORWARDS
Gylfi Sigurdsson is the star of Iceland’s team and has long been used as a midfield playmaker by his country.