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 |
| List of UEFA European Championship matches | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Opponent | Score | Result | Date | Venue |
| 2016 | Group F | Portugal |
1–1 | Draw | 14 June 2016 | Saint-Étienne, France |
 Hungary |
1–1 | Draw | 18 June 2016 | Marseille, France | ||
| Austria |
2–1 | Win | 22 June 2016 | Paris, France | ||
| Round of 16 | England |
2–1 | Win | 27 June 2016 | Nice, France | |
| Quarter-finals | France |
2–5 | Loss | 3 July 2016 | Paris, France | |
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 | GK | Hannes Þór Halldórsson | 27 April 1984 (aged 32) | 33 | 0 |  Bodø/Glimt
|
| 2 | DF | Birkir Már Sævarsson | 11 November 1984 (aged 31) | 57 | 1 | Hammarby IF
|
| 3 | DF | Haukur Heiðar Hauksson | 1 September 1991 (aged 24) | 7 | 0 | AIK
|
| 4 | DF | Hjörtur Hermannsson | 8 February 1995 (aged 21) | 3 | 0 | IFK Göteborg
|
| 5 | DF | Sverrir Ingi Ingason | 5 August 1993 (aged 22) | 6 | 2 | Lokeren
|
| 6 | DF | Ragnar Sigurðsson | 19 June 1986 (aged 29) | 56 | 1 |  Krasnodar
|
| 7 | MF | Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson | 27 October 1990 (aged 25) | 47 | 5 | Charlton Athletic
|
| 8 | MF | Birkir Bjarnason | 27 May 1988 (aged 28) | 47 | 6 | Basel
|
| 9 | FW | Kolbeinn Sigþórsson | 14 March 1990 (aged 26) | 39 | 20 | Nantes
|
| 10 | MF | Gylfi Sigurðsson | 8 September 1989 (aged 26) | 39 | 13 |  Swansea City
|
| 11 | FW | Alfreð Finnbogason | 1 February 1989 (aged 27) | 34 | 8 | FC Augsburg
|
| 12 | GK | Ögmundur Kristinsson | 19 June 1989 (aged 26) | 11 | 0 | Hammarby IF
|
| 13 | GK | Ingvar Jónsson | 18 October 1989 (aged 26) | 5 | 0 | Sandefjord
|
| 14 | DF | Kári Árnason | 13 October 1982 (aged 33) | 47 | 2 | Malmö FF
|
| 15 | FW | Jón Daði Böðvarsson | 25 May 1992 (aged 24) | 21 | 1 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern
|
| 16 | MF | Rúnar Már Sigurjónsson | 18 June 1990 (aged 25) | 11 | 1 | GIF Sundsvall
|
| 17 | MF | Aron Gunnarsson (captain) | 22 April 1989 (aged 27) | 59 | 2 | Cardiff City
|
| 18 | MF | Theódór Elmar Bjarnason | 4 March 1987 (aged 29) | 27 | 0 |  AGF
|
| 19 | DF | Hörður Björgvin Magnússon | 11 February 1993 (aged 23) | 5 | 0 | Cesena
|
| 20 | MF | Emil Hallfreðsson | 29 June 1984 (aged 31) | 54 | 1 | Udinese
|
| 21 | MF | Arnór Ingvi Traustason | 30 April 1993 (aged 23) | 7 | 3 | IFK Norrköping
|
| 22 | FW | Eiður Guðjohnsen | 15 September 1978 (aged 37) | 86 | 26 | Molde FK
|
| 23 | DF | Ari Freyr Skúlason | 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]- ^ "Draw sends Iceland through to UEFA EURO 2016". UEFA. 6 September 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
- ^ "UEFA EURO 2016 draw pots take shape". UEFA. 14 Oct 2015. Retrieved 14 Oct 2015.
- ^ "WATCH: Are Motherwell the inspiration behind Iceland's 'volcano clap'?".
- ^ "A karla – Lokahópur fyrir EM 2016". ksi.is. 9 May 2016. Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2020.