Iceland at the UEFA European Championship

Iceland qualified once for a UEFA European Championship, the 2016 edition. They directly qualified after securing the second spot in their qualifying group, with still four group matches remaining; this meant they would appear on a major tournament finals for the first time in their history.[1] For the draw of the end stage that took place on 12 December 2015, they were seeded in Pot 4.[2]

In Euro 2016, Iceland came second in their group unbeaten (which included a draw against Portugal and a win over Austria). In the round of 16, they famously beat England 2–1. However, they lost 5–2 against hosts France in the quarter-finals.

Also during Euro 2016, Iceland's fans became widely known for their 'volcano clap' (or 'Viking clap') with a 'huh' chant, though it may actually have originated with fans of Scottish club Motherwell F.C.[3]

Overall record

edit
UEFA European Championship record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
  1960 Did not enter
  1964 Did not qualify
  1968 Did not enter
  1972
  1976 Did not qualify
  1980
  1984
  1988
  1992
  1996
    2000
  2004
    2008
    2012
  2016 Quarter-finals 8th 5 2 2 1 8 9
  2020 Did not qualify
  2024
    2028 To be determined
    2032
Total Quarter-finals 1/17 5 2 2 1 8 9

Euro 2016 squad

edit

Iceland announced their final squad on 9 May.[4]

Managers: Heimir Hallgrímsson &   Lars Lagerbäck

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Hannes Þór Halldórsson (1984-04-27)27 April 1984 (aged 32) 33 0   Bodø/Glimt
2 2DF Birkir Már Sævarsson (1984-11-11)11 November 1984 (aged 31) 57 1   Hammarby IF
3 2DF Haukur Heiðar Hauksson (1991-09-01)1 September 1991 (aged 24) 7 0   AIK
4 2DF Hjörtur Hermannsson (1995-02-08)8 February 1995 (aged 21) 3 0   IFK Göteborg
5 2DF Sverrir Ingi Ingason (1993-08-05)5 August 1993 (aged 22) 6 2   Lokeren
6 2DF Ragnar Sigurðsson (1986-06-19)19 June 1986 (aged 29) 56 1   Krasnodar
7 3MF Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson (1990-10-27)27 October 1990 (aged 25) 47 5   Charlton Athletic
8 3MF Birkir Bjarnason (1988-05-27)27 May 1988 (aged 28) 47 6   Basel
9 4FW Kolbeinn Sigþórsson (1990-03-14)14 March 1990 (aged 26) 39 20   Nantes
10 3MF Gylfi Sigurðsson (1989-09-08)8 September 1989 (aged 26) 39 13   Swansea City
11 4FW Alfreð Finnbogason (1989-02-01)1 February 1989 (aged 27) 34 8   FC Augsburg
12 1GK Ögmundur Kristinsson (1989-06-19)19 June 1989 (aged 26) 11 0   Hammarby IF
13 1GK Ingvar Jónsson (1989-10-18)18 October 1989 (aged 26) 5 0   Sandefjord
14 2DF Kári Árnason (1982-10-13)13 October 1982 (aged 33) 47 2   Malmö FF
15 4FW Jón Daði Böðvarsson (1992-05-25)25 May 1992 (aged 24) 21 1   1. FC Kaiserslautern
16 3MF Rúnar Már Sigurjónsson (1990-06-18)18 June 1990 (aged 25) 11 1   GIF Sundsvall
17 3MF Aron Gunnarsson (captain) (1989-04-22)22 April 1989 (aged 27) 59 2   Cardiff City
18 3MF Theódór Elmar Bjarnason (1987-03-04)4 March 1987 (aged 29) 27 0   AGF
19 2DF Hörður Björgvin Magnússon (1993-02-11)11 February 1993 (aged 23) 5 0   Cesena
20 3MF Emil Hallfreðsson (1984-06-29)29 June 1984 (aged 31) 54 1   Udinese
21 3MF Arnór Ingvi Traustason (1993-04-30)30 April 1993 (aged 23) 7 3   IFK Norrköping
22 4FW Eiður Guðjohnsen (1978-09-15)15 September 1978 (aged 37) 86 26   Molde FK
23 2DF Ari Freyr Skúlason (1987-05-14)14 May 1987 (aged 29) 38 0   OB

Goalscorers

edit
Player Goals 2016
Birkir Bjarnason 2 2
Kolbeinn Sigþórsson 2 2
Jón Daði Böðvarsson 1 1
Gylfi Sigurðsson 1 1
Ragnar Sigurðsson 1 1
Arnór Ingvi Traustason 1 1
Total 8 8

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Draw sends Iceland through to UEFA EURO 2016". UEFA. 6 September 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  2. ^ "UEFA EURO 2016 draw pots take shape". UEFA. 14 Oct 2015. Retrieved 14 Oct 2015.
  3. ^ "WATCH: Are Motherwell the inspiration behind Iceland's 'volcano clap'?".
  4. ^ "A karla – Lokahópur fyrir EM 2016". ksi.is. 9 May 2016. Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2020.