Memorable moments or Iceland’s fairytale: they reached the quarter-finals at their first Euro, entertained the world with long cars and thank-yous

In 1998, the Czechs were learning the roster of the Nagano Olympics hockey team, and eighteen years later the Icelanders were learning their national football heroes. They celebrated a great success, qualifying for the European Championships in France. They had no idea then that their darlings would reach the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Iceland’s fairy tale began to be written in qualifying. After three rounds, they had three wins, one of which was against the Netherlands. The only two losses were in the Czech Republic and Turkey, two scalps of the Netherlands and a comfortable progression from second place.

Iceland entered the tournament as the least populous country in the championship. However, with a population of 300,000, it also goes hand in hand with a huge cohesion, with thousands of fans travelling with the players to France, for whom qualifying for the championship was a real event.

The Vikings, as the Iceland fans call themselves, drove their team to score points in the first round of the group. 26:4 on shots for the Portuguese plus 73 percent ball possession, yet after the final whistle, two A’s lit up the screens.

The Icelanders did not let the draw with the favourites at the start fool them and were reaching for a win against the Hungarians. They lost the extra two points and certain progress only in the 88th minute, even after an unlucky own goal.

After two rounds, it was clear that Iceland would realistically fight for promotion. Although its players spent most of the game time running around without the ball, they still managed to get on the end of it. They made the most of the minimum and pulled together as a team.

A draw in the last round should have been enough to advance, but Iceland managed to win for the third time. First they scored after his speciality, a long ball, then survived a penalty, but still cashed in in the second half. In the end, the Austrians needed a win to advance and Arnór Ingvi Traustason made it 2-1 in the 94th minute from a fast break into an open defence.

Iceland went from second place to a very cruel part of the spider, facing England in the quarter-finals. A penalty goal in the fourth minute did not decide the game, but two minutes later Ragnar Sigurðsson equalised again after a long ball.

In the 18th minute, the stadium erupted with joy as Kolbeinn Sigþórsson put Joe Hart through with a cross and Iceland took the lead. Long defending ensued, but paradoxically, of the 17 shots, England did not fire once from an outright scoring position. Something extra was needed and Albion were unable to do it.

The Icelanders duly celebrated their promotion to the top eight, not forgiving themselves the now legendary thank you card. But there was also a need to think about the future. Everything was being prepared for the next round, in which home France, an even bigger favourite for overall victory than England, was waiting.

The quarter-finals were too much even for the fighting Icelanders. After half-time it was all over, the favourite led 4:0, after the change of sides there was at least a cosmetic adjustment by the Vikings to 2:5. Still, the fans from the north stayed and applauded. And there was a reason.

Several players shined throughout the tournament. The aforementioned Sigurðsson, as well as his namesake Gyfli, dedicated captain Aron Gunnarsson and forward Kolbeinn Sigthórsson. A special case is that of goalkeeper Hannes Þór Halldórsson, who had a great tournament and it had no effect on his career.

Overall, the Icelanders didn’t make any big transfers after the triumph and no one from the squad besides Sigurðsson played for a big club. Sometimes players are simply only good when they play alongside those with the same mentality and determination. And that, with hindsight, is what can be said about Iceland.

Source: Euro 2016, Twitter