From Bjorn Thorfinnsson : Iceland qualify for France
Hi Myles,
Hope you are fine. I was wondering if you had followed the Icelandic national team who yesterday qualified for the EURO finals in France 2016 with two games to spare.
I thought I would never experience this in my lifetime but following this team has been absolutely amazing. They showed promising signs in the qualification for the World Cup which resulted in a heartbreaking loss against Croatia in the playoffs.
When I saw the draw for the EURO groups I was disappointed.
We were going to face The Netherlands, Czech Republic and Turkey, three powerfull football nations. Then we got Latvia who are also strong and finally we got Kazakhstan, which was the strongest team in the lowest seeding group by far. A long journey and a tricky team. I feared the worst.
However our team has been amazing. 19 points out of possible 24. We have scored 15 goals and only conceded 3 (all against the Czech Republic). Our result against The Netherlands? 6 points, 3 goals scored and none conceded.
We are living in a dream over here, Lars Lagerback is a national hero, as are his players, who even though they are seasoned professionals, play with a passion that is unmatched in international football.
So have you followed this fairytale-story and what is your take on it?
Myles says :
I haven’t followed it, Bjorn, but I did notice that they’ve only conceded three goals.
That is astounding.
That means Iceland could be the Nottingham Forest of Euro 2016.
As Brian Clough used to say about when a tricky away leg was coming up, “We only need one.”
MEANING : If we keep a clean sheet, one goal is enough.
Good luck in France!