Today, on March 26, the Ukraine national team will play against Iceland in the final round of qualification for the 2024 European Championship. Here is information about our opponent. 

Iceland

General Information

Confederation: UEFA. Governing body: The Icelandic Football Association. As of February 2024, the Iceland national team held the 73rd place in the FIFA ranking. The team's first official match in history was played on July 17, 1946 against Denmark (0:3). Their biggest victory came on March 26, 2023 over Liechtenstein (7:0), and their worst defeat occurred on August 23, 1967 against Denmark (2:14). The team is nicknamed "«Vikings». 

The Iceland national team qualified for the final stage of the World Cup once in their history, in 2018, where they finished fourth in the group stage. They also participated in the finals of the European Championship once – reaching the quarter-finals in France in 2016.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Elías-Rafn Ólafsson ("Mafra", Portugal), Haukur Helgason ("Brentford", England), Páll Guðjohnsen ("Viking", Norway).

Defenders: Gudmundur Dadi Thorarinsson (OFI, Greece), Kolbeinn Sigthorsson ("Lyngby BK", Denmark), Daniel Gretarsson ("SønderjyskE", Denmark), Sverrir Ingi Ingason ("Midtjylland", Denmark), Gylfi Geir Hermannsson ("Pisa", Italy), Viktor Palsson ("Eibar", Belgium).

Midfielders: Johann Gudmundsson ("Burnley", England), Isak Johannesson ("Fortuna Düsseldorf", Germany), Arnór Traustason ("Norrköping", Sweden), Hakon G. Haraldsson ("Lille", France), Kristian Thorstensen ("Ajax", Netherlands), Jon Torsteinsson ("Leuven", Belgium), Mikael Ellertsson ("Venezia", Italy), Mikael Anderson ("Aarhus", Denmark), Arnór Sigurðarson ("Blackburn Rovers", England), Willum Vilhjalmsson ("Gouw Ede Eagles", Netherlands), Stefan Teitur ("Silkeborg", Denmark).

Forwards: Orri Óskarsson ("Copenhagen", Denmark), Andri Gudjohnsen ("Lyngby BK", Denmark), Alfred Finnbogason ("Eibar", Belgium), Albert Gudmundsson ("Genoa", Italy).

Main Coach

70-year-old Norwegian specialist Oge Hareide took charge of the Iceland national team on January 21, 2021, replacing Arnar Vidarsson. 

Before this appointment, Hareide worked for Norwegian "Molde", "Rosenborg" and "Viking", Swedish "Helsingborgs IF", "Ergryte" and "Malmo FF", as well as Danish "Brondby". Additionally, he coached the national teams of Norway (2003-2008) and Denmark (2015-2020). With "Molde", Hareide won the Norwegian Cup in 1994. With "Helsingborgs IF" – the Swedish league championship in 1999 and the Swedish Cup in 1997/1998, with "Brondby" – the Danish league championship in 2001/2002. Together with "Rosenborg", he won the Norwegian league title (2003) and the Norwegian Cup (2003), and with "Malmo FF" – the Swedish league title (2014) and the Swedish Super Cup (2014). He was named Coach of the Year in the Swedish league in 2014.

Under Oge Hareide's leadership, Iceland has played 11 matches. The team won five games, drew one match and lost five. The coach prefers a tactical formation of 4-3-3. 

Leader

The current leader of the Iceland national team is forward Albert Gudmundsson, who plays for Italian "Genoa". To date, he has played 36 matches for the Icelandic national team, scoring nine goals.

In addition to "Genoa", the 26-year-old striker also played for Dutch PSV and AZ.

Albert Gudmundsson is known for his powerful shot, often taking shots from long distances. He excels at passing and set pieces. He can hold onto the ball and deliver key passes, utilizing dribbling effectively. Standing at 1.77 meters tall, he does not stand out in aerial duels, which is considered one of his weaknesses. The authoritative portal Transfermarkt values him at €22 million.