A two nil victory over Kosovo sealed a spot for Iceland as the smallest country ever to reach the World cup.
Iceland broke the record of Paraguay who had a population of 850,000 when they first hosted the maiden edition in 1930. Trinidad and Tobago had a population of 1.2 million as at 2005.
Goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson in the fifth minute and Johann Berg Gudmundsson late first half goal helped Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side seal a spot in Russia. They became the smallest country to ever reach the World Cup having an estimated population of 334,252.
Iceland has over 20,000 registered football players with one in every 500 Icelander having a UEFA B license or higher, implying that some players start training under professional coaches as early as five years old.
The small country qualified for the Euro 2016, the first major tournament that Iceland ever qualified for. It played out a draw against Portugal and Hungary, defeated Austria in the group stage to secure a place in the knockout stages. In the Round of 16, Iceland inflicted a major upset win over England coming from a goal down to win 2-1.
Notwithstanding their small population, the Icelanders form an incredible fan base for the National team as they introduced the Viking clap to the world during their return to Reykjavik.
Iceland performances which led to their straight wins and an unexpected victory against Turkey helped the team to qualify automatically after beating Kosovo 2-0.
Gylfi Sigurdsson who made a transfer fee of £40 million Everton is the country’s biggest player but they also have young players who have and are rising across Europe.
