The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Underdogs like Iceland and Peru spice up the festivities
Granted, it’s not like Andorra or San Marino will beat Brazil in a World Cup final.
But in soccer, there are chances every now and then for nations with a disproportionate tradition to their foes to go out and grab a result — fueling their countries and love for what can the game can deliver worldwide.
We can’t cheer on the United States against more traditional powers of the sport in Russia at the World Cup this year. So here are three nations with an inspiring narrative that may deserve a vuvuzela sounding or two this summer: ICELAND » The island nation in the deepest reaches of the north Atlantic — with a population roughly that of New Orleans, that is 80 percent uninhabited and features glaciers, fjords and volcanoes — is also home to a tough soccer side as well.
Iceland won hearts at Euro 2016, when it made an unexpected, remarkable run to the quarterfinals, including a homeand-away sweep in qualifying of the Netherlands and a stunner of England in the knockout stage.
By the way, if you’ve never heard the call of the match itself or the postmatch reaction from England commentators and pundits after the defeat to Iceland, it’s something else. Go out of your way to see a brutally honest nation live up to that billing by obliterating the Three Lions for the loss.
Iceland is the smallest nation by population to qualify for the World Cup — and if it wasn’t for injury, there might be quite reasonable hope it could advance out of its group.
Their most famous player is Eidur Gudjohnsen, a retired striker who had a long club career with stops at Chelsea and Barcelona and who recorded 88 caps for Iceland. In the twilight of his career, he was part of the Euro 2016 squad that inspired so many.
These days, the star is Gylfi Sigurdsson, who has been a noted playmaker in midfield with Tottenham, Swansea and now Everton in the English Premier League. His ability to influence a match for club and country — in this case, the latter an underdog side — is vital.
Sigurdsson had his club season end in March as a result of a knee injury, and it’s now a race against the clock to see if he’ll be fit in time to feature in Russia.
For a nation that a casual fan would struggle to name a single domestic club, Iceland has its fair share of players abroad competing at a high level in England, Scotland, Italy and Germany, among others. Iceland will make opponents earn it — although Group D is tough to navigate with Argentina, Croatia and Nigeria.
But again, this is the smallest country to ever make the World Cup, so just the fact Iceland can match up with Lionel Messi at all is awesome.
Iceland is a side with a high workrate, confidence after Euro 2016 and World Cup qualifying — and a narrative that makes them easy to root for.
I know I will be. PERU » Granted, if anyone sees this in Peru, they’re not going to like being referred to as an underdog.
But when you have to face up against Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Uruguay among others on your continent just to get into the field, your last World Cup berth prior to this was 1982 and your side has won four matches all-time in that tournament — it’s tough to shake off that underdog role.
Peru has two very good attackers in Jefferson Farfan and Paolo Guerrero. Farfan scored 15 goals for Lokomotiv Moscow in Russia this past season, and Guerrero is the most prolific international scorer for Peru. Guerrero nearly missed the trip due to an alleged doping violation but will feature after a court ruling.
“The Peruvian media feels euphoric,” journalist Franco Lostanau told ESPN in its World Cup preview. “A lot of us haven’t ever seen Peru in a World Cup, and the truth is that our love for the national team has been fed mostly by defeats.
“Every single conversation in the street lands on the World Cup sooner or later. The media and the fans are confident and grateful for what the manager has achieved; both him and the team can count on massive support.”
Peru will have to battle the odds again in a group with France, Denmark and Australia. But if it can beat the Aussies and get something out of France or Denmark — which is doable — Peru could find itself in the knockout stage.
If that happened, there’s certainly nothing wrong with new blood. PANAMA » One of the beneficiaries of the U.S. missing out on the World Cup is CONCACAF rival Panama making it in for the first time in its history.
Panama has endured tragedy in the last year after one of its most-capped players, Amilcar Henriquez, was shot and killed — a senseless act of violence that left a nation reeling.
There are plenty of veterans in the side — it seems as if Jaime Penedo, Felipe Baloy and Blas Perez have been thorns in the sides of plenty of CONCACAF squads for well more than a decade, going on two at this point.
The road won’t be easy for Panama — it’s in Group G with European powers Belgium and England and capable Tunisia. But just getting the chance at all — in part in Henriquez’s honor — will spur a nation with hope for the future.
And that’s part of what the World Cup is all about — hope.
There will be nations used to the pomp and circumstance — and there will those thrilled and honored by the chance.
Iceland, Peru and Panama are three nations worth giving a shot to in adopted fandom as the World Cup kicks off.
Lillstrung can be reached at CLillstrung@News-Herald. com; @CLillstrungNH on Twitter.