Following Iceland's historic triumph over England in Euro 2016 many interesting facts about the tiny Viking nation are doing the rounds on the internet.
Here are some of them:
• There are no ants in Iceland
• Iceland has more sheep than people
• There are more volcanoes in Iceland than professional footballers
• 8% of Iceland’s population is in France cheering on the national team
• The team's coach is a dentist
• It is the smallest country at the Euros
While these are interesting to read, their relevance to how a team of eleven plays a football tournament is minimal- except for the bit about the coach and the fans in France.
What is important though is how a team plays- passion, on-field tactics, and spirit. It is in these vital areas that Iceland, much like Leicester City last Premier League season, has beaten its opponents.
It is also important to remember that Iceland isn't the first underdog at an international competition- Greece won the Euro in 2004. A fact clearly missed by Cristiano Ronaldo when he said:
“They are not going to do anything in the competition.”
A comment that might come back to haunt the former Manchester United superstar if Iceland continue their dream run and beat the hosts France in their round of eight match.
Iceland’s Euro success has been in the making for nearly 15 years when the tiny island started investing in player development. Smart coaching at the grass root level, an integrated network of training pitches easily accessible from schools and efficient use of UEFA TV riches has all helped Iceland reach a competitive level. It has been a silent revolution which has gone unnoticed by the big boys of football.
The under-21 team qualified for the 2011 UEFA European Championship in Denmark and then made history by reaching the qualifying play-offs for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
En route to France they beat the Netherlands – who finished at third place under Louis Van Gaal at the world cup- both home and away. They won 6 out their 10 games in qualifying losing only twice. You would think that people would have taken them seriously after that.
But modern football is often seen in terms of how much the individual players earn and the size of the match viewing public.
By that logic India and China should be qualifying for every world cup, but I digress.
The win over England too was no fluke. The only goal came from a penalty and Rooney and company hardly threatened from open play. Roy Hodgson, who subsequently stepped down as national team coach, got his tactics horribly wrong, but Iceland must get credit for playing to a plan and showing extraordinary passion to bridge the gap in top level experience.
Iceland now meets France, a match that promises to be a much harder test- France have never lost to Iceland in their previous eleven meetings with 8 wins and 3 draws scoring 30 goals in the process.
Ironically France qualified for the 2000 Euro cup after beating Iceland 3-2, and then went on to win the tournament.
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