Iceland national football team

Iceland
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Strákarnir okkar (Our Boys)
AssociationKnattspyrnusamband Íslands (KSÍ)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachÅge Hareide[1]
CaptainAron Gunnarsson
Most capsBirkir Bjarnason (113)
Top scorerGylfi Sigurðsson (27)
Home stadiumLaugardalsvöllur
FIFA codeISL
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 72 Increase 1 (4 April 2024)[2]
Highest18 (February–March 2018)
Lowest131 (April–June 2012)
First international
Unofficial
 Faroe Islands 0–1 Iceland 
(Tórshavn, Faroe Islands; 29 July 1930)[3]
Official
 Iceland 0–3 Denmark 
(Reykjavík, Iceland; 17 July 1946)[4]
Biggest win
Unofficial
 Iceland 9–0 Faroe Islands 
(Keflavík, Iceland; 10 July 1985)[5]
Official
 Liechtenstein 0–7 Iceland 
(Vaduz, Liechtenstein; 26 March 2023)
Biggest defeat
 Denmark 14–2 Iceland 
(Copenhagen, Denmark; 23 August 1967)
World Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2018)
Best resultGroup stage (2018)
European Championship
Appearances1 (first in 2016)
Best resultQuarter-finals (2016)
Greenland Cup
Appearances2 (first in 1980)
Best resultChampions (1980, 1984)

The Iceland national football team (Icelandic: Íslenska karlalandsliðið í knattspyrnu) represents Iceland in men's international football. The team is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland, and have been a FIFA member since 1947 and a UEFA member since 1957. The team's nickname is Strákarnir okkar, which means Our Boys in Icelandic.

The team enjoyed success in the second half of the 2010s. In the qualifying rounds for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Iceland reached the playoffs before losing to Croatia. Iceland reached its first major tournament, UEFA Euro 2016, after a qualification campaign which included home and away wins over the Netherlands. After reaching the knockout stages of Euro 2016, Iceland defeated England in the Round of 16, advancing to the quarter-finals, where they lost to host nation France 5–2. They became the smallest nation by population ever to clinch a FIFA World Cup berth when they qualified for the 2018 tournament on 9 October 2017.[7] They drew with Argentina in their opening match, but went out in the group stage.[8][9]

  1. ^ "Åge Hareide nýr þjálfari A landsliðs karla". KSÍ (in Icelandic). 14 April 2023. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  2. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  3. ^ Courtney, Barrie (16 May 2008). "Faroe Islands – List of International Matches". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  4. ^ Nygård, Jostein (16 May 2008). "International matches of Iceland". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  5. ^ Nygård, Jostein (16 May 2008). "International matches of Iceland". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  6. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Iceland become smallest nation ever to qualify for World Cup finals". The Guardian. 9 October 2017. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Lionel Messi penalty saved by Halldórsson as Iceland hold Argentina". The Guardian. 16 June 2018. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  9. ^ "Iceland bow out of World Cup after defeat by Croatia in final group game". The Guardian. 26 June 2018. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.

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