Iceland’s Vikings make history again
In a week which saw the likes of the USA, the Netherlands and Chile fall by the World Cup wayside, Iceland’s Viking Thunderclap celebrations resounded not only in Reykjavik but throughout the football world. This tiny nation in the North Atlantic Ocean had done it again.
Seven years ago Iceland were 112th in the Fifa rankings and regarded very much as minnows on the international scene, never having qualified for a senior tournament. How times have changed.
In the past 18 months Iceland qualified for Euro 2016 in France and now have achieved their ultimate aim of reaching the 2018 World Cup in Russia. And they have climbed to 22nd in the world rankings. By any standards it is an extraordinary story and a rare heartening tale from the world of football.
Everybody knows that with a population of just 333,000 they are the smallest nation ever to reach the European and World Cup finals. The previous smallest country to make the World Cup was Trinidad and Tobago (population 1.3 million) in 2006. Before that it was Northern Ireland (1.4 million) way back in 1958.
It is often forgotten that Iceland almost made it to the 2014 World Cup but were beaten in the play-offs by powerful Croatia, who this time around they beat into second place. The other teams in their group were no pushovers either, with Ukraine, Turkey and Finland all being put in their place by the Icelandic team.
That Iceland’s achievement in reaching the World Cup does not completely come as surprise is a tribute to their terrific performance in Euro 2016 in which they reached the quarterfinals after famously humbling England 2-1 in the round of 16. That result prompted the immediate resignation of England manager Roy Hodgson. One suspects current England boss manager Gareth Southgate won’t complain if England avoid Iceland in the group stage in Russia.
One of the key players in Iceland’s recent success is midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson who strangely has not been in good club form since moving from Swansea City to Everton. Last Monday he scored an excellent opening goal in the 2-0 defeat of Kosovo which clinched Iceland’s place in the finals. But the key result was probably the previous game when they secured a 3-0 away victory over Turkey.
Not surprisingly, just as there was after their Euro success, Iceland and their supporters have been celebrating in style, enjoying a big party and a thoroughly deserved one at that. Following their Euro success it would have been easy for Iceland to rest on their “minnow” laurels, but they were determined not to be one-hit wonders and somehow managed to maintain their momentum throughout the World Cup qualifiers.
Manager Heimir Halgrimsson admitted that he was concerned about the players regaining their focus for the World Cup campaign after Euro 2016. “The hardest thing was to get going again after France,” he said, expecting a kind of metaphorical hangover. “The first beer after a big party is not good-tasting.” But he didn’t need to worry as they went on to top their group, losing only two qualifiers in the process.
Another unlikely team that will be enjoying their first World Cup appearance are Panama who earned their place in extraordinary circumstances thanks to a combination of three highly unexpected results. The USA had been strong favourites to go through from the Concacaf group and to progress, they only had to draw at bottom-placed Trinidad & Tobago, ranked 99th in the world.
However the USA somehow managed to go down to a shocking 2-1 defeat, and with Panama upsetting Costa Rica 2-1 with an 88th minute winner and Honduras surprising Mexico 3-2, the US were out of the World Cup for the first time since 1986. All the more sickening for the USA is that they had thrashed Panama 4-0 only last month and thought they were virtually home and dry.
USA coach Bruce Arena, who had replaced Juergen Klinsmann earlier in the campaign, was as stunned as everybody else. “We have no excuses,” he said. “We failed.”
The Guardian termed it “the worst defeat in the history of the US national team.”
Somewhat fortuitously the American newspapers and public were more concerned with the baseball play-offs and latest NFL news.
Another emotionally charged qualifying match this week included the Republic of Ireland’s upset 1-0 win over Wales to secure a play-off place. Without their talisman, the injured Gareth Bale, Wales were always going to struggle and that proved to be the case.
Scotland too just missed out on a play-off spot after being held 2-2 by Slovenia. Scottish manager Gordon Strachan, who had done well to get his modest side into contention, partly blames the lack of height in his squad for their failings. “I had to pick a team to combat [Slovenia’s] height and strength,” he said. “Physically we have a problem.”
But this seems rather a lame excuse as some of the best players in the world are lacking in height. Speaking of which the gifted Lionel Messi did the job with a timely hat-trick to ensure Argentina’s place in Russia.
Then there was Australia squeaking home against a spirited Syrian squad thanks to two headers from veteran Tim Cahill. The Socceroos now face an intriguing play-off against Honduras which is a hard one to call, but one feels Australia will need to step up their game.
The European qualifying isn’t over of course and Tuesday’s draw in which teams are seeded into two pots, will be awaited with much anticipation.
It hardly needs saying that the four unseeded teams are all praying that they will avoid Italy.