We are a small nation but we can do anything, say Iceland
A 2-0 VICTORY on Monday night over visiting Kosovo made a dream come true for Iceland as the country secured a historic spot at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and set off celebrations that ran well into yesterday as fans paid tribute to their team.
After the final whistle at Laugardalsvollur stadium, fireworks lit up the skies over Reykjavik.
The team were later cheered at the central Ingolfstorg Square in the capital where fans and players – donned in T-shirts with the text “HM 2018 Fyrir Island” (World Cup 2018 for Iceland) – joined in a rendition of their “huh” chant, known from the Euro 2016 tournament.
“This is so unreal, this is happening. Iceland is going to the World Cup – the dream has come true. We are going to Russia!,” gushed TV sports reporter Haukur Hardarson, who commented on the match.
Iceland progress as winners of Group I ahead of Croatia, Ukraine and Turkey, while Finland and Kosovo were never in contention.
Gudni Bergsson, chairman of the Icelandic Football Association, told news site Visir: “If I’m dreaming, don’t wake me up!”
The newspaper Frettabladid ran the front page headline – “RUSSIA: We’re on our way”.
And in the sports section: “The little football giant to Russia”
Daily Morgunbladid headlined: “Magnificent sport achievement”, and in the sports section: “World Cup no longer just a dream”.
Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said after the match it was hard to express how he felt as his mind was “all over the place. This is crazy. I mean, Pele, Maradona and Aron Einar Gunnarsson!”
He also paid tribute to former head coach Lars Lagerback, the Swede who helped guide Iceland to Euro 2016 – the country’s first major championship - where they reached the quarter-final stage.
“We clearly needed him and he formed the base of what we are doing. He deserves every credit,” he told public broadcaster RUV.
The coach did not show much emotion when Gylfi Sigurdsson scored the opener in the 41st minute, and explained that he was “not happy with how [Iceland] were playing. We were nervous and didn’t play like we’re used to.”
Hallgrimsson told reporters that some people had advised him to quit after Euro 2016 and relish the team’s success at Euro 2016, but he stayed on as he “believed we could do better.”
He disclosed he had done some scouting in Russia and the training pitch looked good.
“Now we have climbed this mountain and now we have to look at the next one, put on new hiking shoes and start,” he summed up.
Captain Aron Einar Gunnarsson said the squad had evolved strongly in the past four years since losing to Croatia in playoffs for the 2014 World Cup, and praised the staff and players.
“This has been hard work but clearly worth it. In my opinion we were in one of the toughest groups in the qualification, with four teams that were in the European Championships last year,” he said.
The team decided to pull together and aimed to win the group in order to avoid another playoff, the Cardiff City player added.
Goalscorer Gylfi Sigurdsson said the team was proud of its effort and it was “a great feeling having reached this”.
Iceland’s President Gudni Th Johannesson lauded the team’s feat expressing “joy and pride to witness this incredible sports achievment,” he told daily Morgunbladid.
The team also helped unite the country, he added.
With a population of about 330 000, Iceland is the smallest nation based on population ever to compete in the Word Cup finals. Previously, Trinidad & Tobago with a 1.3-million-strong population had that record from 2006.
“We are a small nation but we turn smallness into a strength. We stand together, set targets and reach them. This tells us that even though we are a small nation we can do anything,” he told RUV.