Iceland says: we’ll still cheer on England (if you can beat us)

ENGLAND’S Euro 2016 encounter with Iceland tonight marks a break with tradition: the tiny Nordic nation is more familiar with cheering on Roy Hodgson’s team.

With harsh temperatures making football unplayable for at least four months of the year, players and supporters described yesterday how the country usually adopts England as its favoured team.

Eider Gudjohnsen, a veteran squad member, said the team is preparing for “the biggest game in Iceland’s footballing history” but admits if his country is knocked out, he hopes Hodgson’s men go on to lift the trophy.

“To be facing England, for us, I think it’s fair to say it is a little bit special because English football has had a huge influence on Icelandic football and from when we grew up, and for generations, everyone in Iceland has supported a team in English football, so we feel a big connection to England in footballing terms,” said Gudjohnsen, 37, who was a fans’ favourite in the Premier League, excelling at Chelsea.

The team’s sentiments were shared by fans travelling to Nice for the game yesterday. One in 10 of the country’s 330,000 population is believed to be in Nice.

Helgi Einarsson, 32, chief executive of a construction company, has travelled to Nice with five friends who set up a sophisticated internet operation to buy tickets when Iceland qualified for the last 16.

“This is the biggest day in the history of Iceland football,” he said.