Finally, Iceland’s incredible run at the Euro 2016 has come to an end. On Sunday, they ran into France, where they simply didn’t stand a chance against a host that also happened to be one of the tournament’s best. But their last three weeks at the championship was nothing short of amazing.
Iceland was one of the most talked about teams even before they arrived in France. They were the smallest country to ever qualify for the Euros, with a population of just 330,000. That’s five times smaller than the next smallest team at these Euros, Northern Ireland, and it was such a big deal for them to even
make it into the Euros that eight percent of their population travelled to France for the matches. If there was a lovable underdog at the Euros, it was Iceland, and that was before they had even kicked a ball.
Being an unknown entity in world football, most figured they would bow out meekly, and when Nani scored 31 minutes into their opener against Portugal, it looked like that their tournament was going to be a disaster. But then Iceland scored and managed a draw against Portugal, which led their superstar captain Cristiano Ronaldo to lambast the team as a bunch of no-hopers. However, a draw against Hungary sent them into the final match of the group stage with a chance to advance and that’s exactly what they did. But it didn’t come with a meek draw, it came with Arnor Ingvi Traustason finding the back of the net in stoppage time, sending the entire country wild and Iceland into the round of 16. That was supposed to be the end of Iceland’s run. There they would be done in by England, a nation with the longest soccer history. Iceland had gone from celebrating just making it to the Euros to celebrating their run to the knock-out stages. It was a terrific tournament no matter what. Then the unthinkable happened -- they beat England. It wasn’t a matter of luck or even pluck. They outplayed the Three Lions, creating chances and defended with ease. It was the clinical, comfortable win that teams were supposed to inflict on Iceland. Not something
Iceland does to England. A team with a joint-coach who is
also a part-time dentist had managed to beat a side which was
helmed by the highest paid coach at the championship.
This made the world sit up and take notice. Everyone did the
viking clap, with the bond between their team and fans becoming
the envy of the world. But the reality finally hit against
France. The hosts were too much, but Iceland’s run was something
for the ages.
Now they turn to the future. This tiny nation had invested tons
of money into their coaching and development programmes,
even through horrible economic times. They climbed 100 spots
in the FIFA world rankings to get to this point and are set to enter
the top 30. They didn’t intend to have just one great run at a
Euros, they wanted sustained success. Next up is the arduous
task of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. While they will
still be the lovable underdogs, they have a real chance to make
this the start of a new reality.
