Iceland national football team
The Iceland national football team 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 an UEFA member since 1957. The team's nickname is Strákarnir okkar meaning our boys.
The team has 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 advancing to 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 to ever clinch a FIFA World Cup berth when they qualified for the 2018 tournament on 9 October 2017. They drew with Argentina in their opening match, but nonetheless still went out in the group stage.
History
20th century
Although Úrvalsdeild, the Icelandic Football League, was founded in 1912, the country's first international match was played on 29 July 1930, against the Faroe Islands. Although Iceland won 1–0 away, both teams were at the time unaffiliated with FIFA. The first match officially recognised by FIFA took place in Reykjavík on 17 July 1946, a 0–3 loss to Denmark. The first international victory was against Finland in 1947. For the first 20 years of the Football Association of Iceland 's existence, mostly the team did not participate in qualifying for the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championship. In 1954, Iceland applied to take part in qualification for the 1954 World Cup, but the application was rejected. In qualification for the 1958 World Cup, Iceland finished last in their group with zero wins, conceding 26 goals.In 1980, Iceland won the first edition of the friendly tournament known as the Greenland Cup.
Since 1974, the team has taken part in qualifying for every World Cup and European Championship. In 1994, the team reached their then best ever position in the FIFA World Rankings, 37th. This record stood until 2016 when they managed to reach 21st. In a friendly against Estonia on 24 April 1996 in Tallinn, Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen entered as a substitute for his father Arnór. This marked the first time that a father and son played in the same international match.
21st century
In qualification for Euro 2004, Iceland finished third in their group, one point behind Scotland. As a result, they failed to qualify for a playoff spot.In 2014, Iceland almost secured qualification for their first World Cup. Finishing second in Group D, they played Croatia in a two-leg playoff for qualification. After holding them to a 0–0 draw in the home leg, they lost 2–0 away.
Iceland qualified for a major tournament for the first time in 2015 after finishing second in Group A of qualification for Euro 2016, losing only two games, and beating the Netherlands – which had finished third in the 2014 World Cup – twice. During the qualification, they reached their then highest ranking in the FIFA World Rankings, 23rd. Iceland were drawn into a group with Portugal, Hungary and Austria for the final tournament.
At the tournament finals, Iceland recorded 1–1 draws in their first two group stage matches against Portugal and Hungary. They then advanced from their group with a 2–1 victory against Austria. Iceland qualified for the tournament's quarter-finals after a 2–1 upset win over England in the Round of 16, which led to England manager Roy Hodgson resigning in disgrace immediately after the final whistle. However, they were eliminated by host nation France in the quarter-finals, 5–2.
Iceland qualified for the 2018 World Cup, their first ever appearance in the world championship, securing qualification on 9 October 2017 after a 2–0 win against Kosovo. In doing so, they became the lowest-populated country ever to reach the finals. Iceland were drawn to play Croatia, Argentina and Nigeria in a group that was considered by many as the "group of death". Despite a challenging group, Iceland were tipped to advance from the group by several journalist websites, based on their impressive performance in Euro 2016. Their maiden match at the World Cup was against 2014 runners-up Argentina, with Iceland surprisingly holding Argentina to a 1–1 draw. However, their chances of advancing from the group were hurt following a 2–0 loss to Nigeria, putting Iceland to play with full determination against already qualified Croatia. Iceland lost to Croatia in their final group game; and because Argentina won against Nigeria, Iceland finished bottom of the group with just a point.
Team image
The national football team uses a blue and white crest featuring stylized imagery of Iceland's four "guardian spirits" in local folklore; a giant, a dragon, a bull, and an eagle. The team's crest was adopted in 2020 and was designed by Reykjavík-based firm Bradenburg. Previously the team used a team crest which features a shield-type symbol which consist the abbreviation of the Football Association of Iceland in Icelandic, strips which derives colors from the Flag of Iceland, and a football.Iceland's supporters became known for using Viking Clap chant in the mid-2010s, which involves fans clapping their hands above their hands and yelling "huh!" to the beat of a drum. Iceland's Viking Clap first received wider international attention during the Euro 2016.
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
UEFA European Championship
Results and fixtures
2019
2020
2021
Honours
- Greenland Cup
- * Winners : 1980, 1984
- China Cup
- * Runners-up: 2017
FIFA ranking history
| 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| 46 | 47 | 39 | 50 | 60 | 72 | 64 | 43 | 50 | 52 | 58 | 58 | 93 | 94 | 93 | 90 | 83 | 92 | 112 | 104 | 90 | 49 | 33 | 36 | 21 | 22 | 37 | 39 |
Coaching staff
| Position | Name |
| Head coach |  Erik Hamrén |
| Assistant coach |  Freyr Alexandersson |
| Goalkeeping coach | Lars Eriksson |
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for friendly matches against Canada and El Salvador on 15 January and 19 January 2020.All caps and goals are correct as of 19 January 2020 after the match against El Salvador.
Recent call-ups
The following players have been called up to the Iceland squad in the last 12 months.INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
PRE Preliminary squad.
WTD Player withdrew from the national team.
SUS Player is serving suspension.
Previous squads
;FIFA World Cup:- World Cup 2018 squad
- Euro 2016 squad
Kit providers
| Kit provider | Period |
 Umbro | 1975 |
 Adidas | 1976–1991 |
 ABM | 1992–1996 |
| Reusch | 1996–2001 |
| Erreà | 2002–2020 |
| Puma | 2020– |
Records
Most caps
As of 19 January 2020, the 20 players with the most caps for Iceland are:Note: Some unofficial matches are counted for some players, as per the KSÍ count.
played 89 games for Iceland between 1996 and 2011, which puts him fourth in the nation's appearances list.
| Rank | Name | Career | Caps | Goals |
| 1 | Rúnar Kristinsson | 1987–2004 | 104 | 3 |
| 2 | Ragnar Sigurðsson | 2007– | 94 | 5 |
| 3 | Birkir Már Sævarsson | 2007– | 92 | 1 |
| 4 | Hermann Hreiðarsson | 1996–2011 | 89 | 5 |
| 5 | Eiður Guðjohnsen | 1996–2016 | 88 | 26 |
| 6 | Aron Einar Gunnarsson | 2008– | 87 | 2 |
| 7 | Birkir Bjarnason | 2010– | 84 | 13 |
| 8 | Kári Árnason | 2005– | 83 | 6 |
| 9 | Guðni Bergsson | 1984–2003 | 80 | 1 |
| 10 | Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson | 2008– | 75 | 8 |
| 11 | Brynjar Björn Gunnarsson | 1997–2009 | 74 | 4 |
| 11 | Birkir Kristinsson | 1988–2004 | 74 | 0 |
| 11 | Gylfi Sigurðsson | 2010– | 74 | 22 |
| 14 | Arnór Guðjohnsen | 1979–1997 | 73 | 14 |
| 15 | Ólafur Þórðarson | 1984–1996 | 72 | 5 |
| 15 | Ari Freyr Skúlason | 2009– | 72 | 0 |
| 17 | Arnar Grétarsson | 1991–2004 | 71 | 2 |
| 17 | Árni Gautur Arason | 1998–2010 | 71 | 0 |
| 17 | Emil Hallfreðsson | 2005– | 71 | 1 |
| 20 | Atli Eðvaldsson | 1976–1991 | 70 | 8 |
In bold players still playing or available for selection.
Top goalscorers
As of 19 January 2020, the 20 players with the most goals for Iceland are:Note: Some unofficial matches are counted for some players, as per the KSÍ count.
| Rank | Name | Career | Goals | Caps | GPG |
| 1 | Kolbeinn Sigþórsson | 2010– | 26 | 57 | 0.46 |
| 1 | Eiður Guðjohnsen | 1996–2016 | 26 | 88 | 0.30 |
| 3 | Gylfi Sigurðsson | 2010– | 22 | 74 | 0.30 |
| 4 | Ríkharður Jónsson | 1947–1965 | 17 | 33 | 0.52 |
| 5 | Alfreð Finnbogason | 2010– | 16 | 57 | 0.28 |
| 6 | Ríkharður Daðason | 1991–2004 | 14 | 44 | 0.32 |
| 6 | Arnór Guðjohnsen | 1979–1997 | 14 | 73 | 0.19 |
| 8 | Þórður Guðjónsson | 1993–2004 | 13 | 58 | 0.22 |
| 8 | Birkir Bjarnason | 2010– | 13 | 84 | 0.15 |
| 10 | Tryggvi Guðmundsson | 1997–2008 | 12 | 42 | 0.29 |
| 10 | Heiðar Helguson | 1999–2011 | 12 | 55 | 0.22 |
| 12 | Pétur Pétursson | 1978–1990 | 11 | 41 | 0.27 |
| 12 | Matthías Hallgrímsson | 1968–1977 | 11 | 45 | 0.24 |
| 14 | Helgi Sigurðsson | 1993–2008 | 10 | 62 | 0.16 |
| 14 | Eyjólfur Sverrisson | 1990–2001 | 10 | 66 | 0.15 |
| 16 | Þórður Þórðarson | 1951–1958 | 9 | 16 | 0.56 |
| 16 | Teitur Þórðarson | 1972–1985 | 9 | 41 | 0.22 |
| 18 | Guðmundur Steinsson | 1980–1988 | 8 | 19 | 0.42 |
| 18 | Sigurður Grétarsson | 1980–1992 | 8 | 46 | 0.17 |
| 18 | Marteinn Geirsson | 1971–1982 | 8 | 67 | 0.12 |
| 18 | Atli Eðvaldsson | 1976–1991 | 8 | 70 | 0.11 |
| 18 | Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson | 2008– | 8 | 75 | 0.11 |
In bold players still playing or available for selection.