Chinese stand in awe of Iceland in soccer

Public wonders why a small country can put China to shame

Iceland, a country which rarely makes headlines, has made the Chinese public stand in awe after its soccer team tied with Argentina over the weekend. While many are questioning why a country with a population of only 330,000 could put China to shame in terms of soccer, analysts argue that Iceland’s experience in soccer cannot be applied in China.

Iceland was able to hold Argentina, the favorite, at bay with a 1-1 draw in a World Cup group stage match in Russia on Saturday.

The match sparked heated discussions among Chinese netizens on the internet.

“Iceland may be a small team in the World Cup, but this match has won our hearts,” a Chinese fan said, which received more than 3,000 “likes.”

Iceland’s goalkeeper, Hannes Halldorsson, who stopped a penalty from megastar Lionel Messi and effectively led the game to a draw, has gained more than 30,000 followers on Sina Weibo in two days.

Stories on the Iceland soccer team soon spread around social media: the goalkeeper is a film director, the center back is a factory worker and the coach is a dentist, online We-medias said.

These stories certainly added some flavor in terms of inspiration, as a related Weibo post was reposted more than 90,000 times.

However, the team’s official Weibo account on Sunday clarified that the Iceland players are professional and play in professional leagues.

“How Iceland formed their team is really interesting… And then I started to cry when I think about China’s own soccer team,” reads a comment.

Iceland only has a population of about 330,000, one-tenth the population of Beijing’s Chaoyang district. However, people from Iceland made their way to the World Cup in Russia while China failed to do so.

“The discussions are based on Chinese people’s disappointment with their country’s soccer system,” Wang Dazhao, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times on Monday.

“More Chinese people need to play soccer… Exposure must start in primary schools,” Zhang Lu, a soccer commentator, told the Global Times on Monday.

Although many fans say that China can learn from Iceland’s glory, an expert believes that nothing concrete can be applied in China.

Such a development method is only possible in countries with a small population base like Iceland, as they can more effectively apply social resources on each person, Yan Qiang, deputy editorin-chief of NetEase and vice president of the newspaper Titan Sports, told the Global Times.

2002 was the only time China qualified for the World Cup.“It may still take China at least another 15 years to qualify for the World Cup again… China’ soccer will undergo many changes after 15 to 20 years,” Zhang said.

In 2015, China implemented a soccer reform plan to get 50 million children and adults to play soccer by the end of the decade, with the ultimate goal of becoming a “world soccer power” by 2050, the Xinhua News Agency reported.