Iceland national under-21 football team

Iceland Under-21
Nickname(s) Strákarnir okkar
Association Knattspyrnusamband Íslands
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Eyjólfur Sverrisson
FIFA code ISL
First colours
Second colours
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances 1 (First in 2011)
Best result Round 1 (2011)

The Iceland national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Iceland and is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland. The team is considered to be the feeder team for the senior Icelandic national football team. Since the establishment of the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in 1978, the team has reached the Euro Championship finals on one occasion in 2011 where they were knocked out in the group stages.[1]

The team is for Icelandic players aged under 21 at the start of the calendar year in which a two-year European Under-21 Football Championship campaign begins, so some players can remain with the squad until the age of 23. As long as they are eligible, players can play for Iceland at any level, making it possible to play for the U21s, senior side, and again for the U21s. This has been the case for several senior team players like Aron Gunnarsson, Eiður Guðjohnsen, Heiðar Helguson and Kolbeinn Sigþórsson.

History

From 1978 to 2009 the team never qualified for tournament finals. In late 2010, the team sealed qualification to the championships for the very first team in their history. During the qualification stage they finished second in their group behind the Czech Republic and qualified for the playoffs as a result of being one of the best runners-up in the whole qualification process. Their most notable win came in a 4–1 home win over Germany.[2] In the next stage they played against Scotland in a two-legged affair in which they won 4–2 on aggregate over the two games.[3]

Their remarkable qualification campaign saw them qualify for the finals where they were drawn against Belarus, Denmark and Switzerland in Group A. In their first two group games they were comfortably beaten by Belarus and Switzerland. In their final group game they defeated Denmark who were the hosts of the tournament 3–1.[4] Iceland would finish third in the group, level on points with the second placed and fourth placed teams.[5] Following the end of the tournament, UEFA announced its Team of the Tournament with striker Kolbeinn Sigþórsson named on the list.[6]

Competition records

UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
1978 to 2009 Did Not Qualify
Denmark 2011 Group Stage 5th 3 1 0 2 3 5 - 2
2013 Did Not Qualify
2015 Did Not Qualify
Total 0 Titles 0/1 3 1 0 2 3 5 -2

2015 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  France 8 7 1 0 28 7 +21 22 Play-offs
2  Iceland 8 5 1 2 20 11 +9 16
3  Kazakhstan 8 3 0 5 8 18 −10 9
4  Armenia 8 3 0 5 7 19 −12 9
5  Belarus 8 1 0 7 6 14 −8 3
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

Date Competition Location Opponent Result Scorers
6 February 2013
Friendly match
 Stebonheath Park, Llanelli, Wales  Wales
0 — 3
26 March 2013
2015 UEFA U-21 qualification
 Torpedo, Zhodzina, Belarus  Belarus
2 — 1
Jón Daði Böðvarsson, Emil Atlason
6 June 2013
2015 UEFA U-21 qualification
 Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia  Armenia
2 — 1
Emil Atlason (2)
14 August 2013
2015 UEFA U-21 qualification
 Vodafonevöllurinn, Reykjavík, Iceland  Belarus
4 — 1
Emil Atlason (3), Jón Daði Böðvarsson
10 September 2013
2015 UEFA U-21 qualification
 Kópavogsvöllur, Kópavogur, Iceland  Kazakhstan
2 — 0
Arnór Ingvi Traustason, Emil Atlason
14 October 2013
2015 UEFA U-21 qualification
 Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland  France
3 — 4
Sverrir Ingi Ingason, Hólmbert Aron Friðjónsson, own goal
5 March 2014
2015 UEFA U-21 qualification
 Astana Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan  Kazakhstan
2 — 3
Hólmbert Aron Friðjónsson, Hjörtur Hermannsson
5 June 2014
Friendly match
 Norðurálsvöllurinn, Akranes, Iceland  Sweden
0 — 2
3 September 2014
2015 UEFA U-21 qualification
 Fylkisvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland  Armenia
4 — 0
Hólmbert Aron Friðjónsson (2), Emil Atlason, Ólafur Karl Finsen
8 September 2014
2015 UEFA U-21 qualification
 Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps, Auxerre, France  France
1 — 1
Kristján Gauti Emilsson
10 October 2014
2015 UEFA U-21 qualification play-offs
 Nordjyske Arena, Aalborg, Denmark  Denmark
0 — 0
14 October 2014
2015 UEFA U-21 qualification play-offs
 Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland  Denmark
1 — 1
Hólmbert Friðjónsson

Current squad

The following players were named in the squad for the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-offs match against Denmark, played on 14 October 2014.[7] All caps and goals are correct as of 14 October 2014.

# Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
GK Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson 18 February 1995 10 0 Denmark Nordsjælland
GK Frederik August Albrecht Schram 19 January 1995 2 0 Denmark Vestsjælland
GK Anton Ari Einarsson 25 August 1994 0 0 Iceland Valur
DF Hörður Björgvin Magnússon 11 February 1993 14 0 Italy A.C. Cesena
DF Sverrir Ingi Ingason 5 August 1993 11 1 Belgium Lokeren
DF Orri Sigurður Ómarsson 18 February 1995 10 0 Denmark AGF
DF Hjörtur Hermannsson 8 February 1995 9 1 Netherlands PSV
DF Brynjar Gauti Guðjónsson 27 February 1992 9 0 Iceland ÍBV
DF Ásgeir Eyþórsson 29 April 1993 1 0 Iceland Fylkir
DF Sigurður Egill Lárusson 22 January 1992 1 0 Iceland Valur
MF Guðmundur Þórarinsson 15 April 1992 14 0 Norway Sarpsborg
MF Arnór Ingvi Traustason 30 April 1993 12 1 Sweden IFK Norrköping
MF Andri Rafn Yeoman 18 April 1992 11 0 Iceland Breiðablik
MF Emil Pálsson 10 June 1993 7 0 Iceland FH
MF Þorri Geir Rúnarsson 24 April 1995 1 0 Iceland Stjarnan
FW Emil Atlason 22 July 1993 12 8 Iceland KR
FW Hólmbert Aron Friðjónsson 19 April 1993 10 5 Denmark Brøndby
FW Kristján Gauti Emilsson 26 April 1993 8 1 Netherlands NEC
FW Árni Vilhjálmsson 9 May 1994 5 0 Iceland Breiðablik
FW Ólafur Karl Finsen 30 March 1992 5 1 Iceland Stjarnan
FW Elías Már Ómarsson 18 January 1995 1 0 Iceland Keflavík

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the under-21 squad since the start of 2013.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Guðjón Orri Sigurjónsson 1 December 1992 1 0 Iceland ÍBV v. Sweden Sweden; 5 June 2014 (Friendly match)
GK Árni Freyr Ásgeirsson 10 March 1992 0 0 Iceland Keflavík v. Wales Wales; 6 February 2013 (Friendly match)
DF Tómas Óli Garðarsson 25 October 1993 3 0 Iceland Breiðablik v. Sweden Sweden; 5 June 2014 (Friendly match)
DF Sindri Snær Magnússon 24 February 1992 2 0 Iceland Keflavík v. Sweden Sweden; 5 June 2014 (Friendly match)
DF Bergsveinn Ólafsson 9 September 1992 1 0 Iceland Fjölnir v. Sweden Sweden; 5 June 2014 (Friendly match)
DF Davíð Þór Ásbjörnsson 24 February 1992 0 0 Iceland Fylkir v. Armenia Armenia; 6 June 2013 (2015 UEFA U-21 qualification)
MF Aron Elís Þrándarson 10 November 1994 3 0 Iceland Víkingur R. v. France France; 8 September 2014 (2015 UEFA U-21 qualification)
MF Jón Daði Böðvarsson 25 May 1992 12 2 Norway Viking v. Armenia Armenia; 3 September 2014 (2015 UEFA U-21 qualification)
MF Gunnar Þorsteinsson 1 February 1994 3 0 Iceland ÍBV v. Sweden Sweden; 5 June 2014 (Friendly match)
MF Aron Sigurðarson 8 October 1993 1 0 Iceland Fjölnir v. Sweden Sweden; 5 June 2014 (Friendly match)
MF Arnþór Ari Atlason 12 October 1993 1 0 Iceland Fram v. Sweden Sweden; 5 June 2014 (Friendly match)
MF Elís Rafn Björnsson 13 October 1992 1 0 Iceland Fylkir v. Sweden Sweden; 5 June 2014 (Friendly match)
MF Brynjar Ásgeir Guðmundsson 22 June 1992 2 0 Iceland FH v. France France; 14 October 2013 (2015 UEFA U-21 qualification)
MF Oliver Sigurjónsson 3 March 1995 1 0 Iceland Breiðablik v. Armenia Armenia; 6 June 2013 (2015 UEFA U-21 qualification)
MF Andri Adolphsson 1 December 1992 0 0 Iceland ÍA v. Armenia Armenia; 6 June 2013 (2015 UEFA U-21 qualification)
FW Víðir Þorvarðarson 7 July 1992 1 0 Iceland ÍBV v. Sweden Sweden; 5 June 2014 (Friendly match)

Previous squads

Notable former players

See also

References

  1. ↑ "2011: Spain's boys of summer dazzle". UEFA.com. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  2. ↑ "Euro U21 2011 (Qual.)". ZeroZero. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  3. ↑ "Euro U21 2011 (Qual.)". ZeroZero. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  4. ↑ "Iceland 3-1 Denmark". ZeroZero. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  5. ↑ "Euro U21 2011". ZeroZero. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  6. ↑ "U21 all-star squad named by UEFA technical team". UEFA.com. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  7. ↑ http://www.ksi.is/landslid/nr/12148

External links