Iceland national football team

Euro 2016

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.^{[26][27][28][29]} During the qualification, they reached their then highest ranking in the FIFA World Rankings, 23rd.^[30][31] 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.^[32] 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.^[33] However, they were eliminated by host nation France in the quarter-finals, 5–2.^[34]

2018 World Cup

Iceland qualified for the 2018 World Cup, their first ever appearance in the world championship and second major tournament overall, 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 until Curaçao broke both records in 2026.^[35] Iceland were drawn to play Croatia, Argentina and Nigeria in a group that was considered by many as the "group of death".^[36][37] Despite a challenging group, Iceland were tipped to advance from the group by several journalist websites, based on their impressive performance in Euro 2016.^[38] Their maiden match at the World Cup was against 2014 runners-up Argentina, with Iceland holding Argentina to a 1–1 draw.^[39][40] However, their chances of advancing from the group were hurt following a 2–0 loss to Nigeria, with several missed opportunities in the first half and a penalty kick in the second half missed by Gylfi Sigurðsson, putting Iceland in position to play a decisive match against already qualified Croatia.^[41][42] Iceland lost to Croatia in their final group game and were eliminated; and because Argentina won against Nigeria, Iceland finished bottom of the group with a single point.^[43][44]

2018–19 UEFA Nations League

After Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, Iceland participated in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, in which they were in Group 2 of League A with Switzerland and Belgium. Many of Iceland's international matches in this competition were undermined by the repeated absence of some of their key players, often due to injury. Iceland lost all four games and faced relegation to League B,^[45] but due to a rule change by UEFA, Iceland was not relegated to League B for the 2020–2021 edition.

Euro 2020 qualifiers

In group H of the Euro qualifiers with the world champions France, Turkey, Albania, Andorra and Moldova. Iceland lost both confrontations against Les Bleus (4–0 at the Stade de France and 1–0 at home on a penalty kick after the hour of play at the end of a tight game) and the away match against Albania 4–2, though achieved a win and a draw against Turkey. Iceland finished third behind France and Turkey and advanced to the playoffs, where they defeated Romania 2–1. On 12 November 2020, in their playoff game against Hungary, Iceland nearly secured qualification for Euro 2020, having led 1–0 for most of the match, thanks to a direct free kick by Gylfi Sigurðsson. However, Hungary scored two goals in under five minutes, the first in the 88th minute by Loïc Nego and the second in the second minute of added time by Dominik Szoboszlai, proving to be the winner, thereby securing qualification at Iceland's expense.^[46]

Iceland had also suffered poor results in their UEFA Nations League campaign in League A, having lost all their group stage matches and failing to garner a single point, resulting in their relegation to League B the following season.^[47] Manager Erik Hamrén ultimately resigned, following their poor performance that year.^[48]

2022 World Cup qualifiers

Iceland also had a poor start to 2022 World Cup qualifiers, suffering two defeats at the beginning of the tournament, away against Germany (0–3) and more surprisingly in Armenia (0–2). Preparation for the September games, where Iceland had the advantage of playing all three games at home after several away games and had played some encouraging friendlies in June, was disrupted by extra-sporting affairs involving both Kolbeinn Sigþórsson and Gylfi Sigurðsson accused of sexual offences^[49][50] and thus absent from the month's games. The cases also led to the resignation of several senior officials of the Icelandic Football Association, including its president.^[51] In the aftermath of these affairs, Iceland lost against Romania (0–2), drew against North Macedonia (2–2), and suffered a heavy loss against Germany (0–4); these results left Iceland in second-to-last place in Group J with four matches remaining. In the two October games, Iceland drew against Armenia (1–1) and defeated Liechtenstein (4–0). Despite these results, along with an away draw against Romania (0–0), Iceland was mathematically eliminated with one day remaining, being unable to recover enough points to reach second place.

This run of poor results has been attributed to several factors, both sporting and extra-sporting: the late generational renewal, a process partly hampered by a limited pool of footballers due to Iceland's demographics; the questionable tactical choices of the new coach, resulting in a lack of automatism among new players who are not used to playing together and the absence of a real standard team; and sexual assault scandals that have effectively sidelined some of the team's best players under investigation.^[52][53]

Euro 2024 qualifiers

The Euro 2024 qualifiers have also got off to a poor start in terms of results, with just one win and 3 defeats after 4 matches and a provisional penultimate place. Iceland were swept aside in Bosnia (0–3), before recording the biggest official victory in their history against Liechtenstein (7–0). Following a long series of poor results, Icelandic coach Arnar Viðarsson was sacked^[54] and replaced by Norwegian Åge Hareide. Under the new coach and after two away games, Iceland hosted Slovakia and Portugal, but both matches ended in defeat. First, Strákarnir okkar lost to the Slovaks (1–2) after a crude defensive error with a direct clearance to Tomáš Suslov, who scored Slovakia's 2nd goal when the teams were level. Iceland then put in a better performance than in their previous matches against group favourites Portugal, demonstrating excellent tactical organization and keeping the Lusitanians at bay for long periods. However, a goal by Cristiano Ronaldo on his 200th appearance for Portugal, initially disallowed but then validated by VAR at the very end of normal time, sealed Portugal's victory (0–1), shortly after the Nordic side had been reduced to 10 men following a second yellow card for Willum Þór Willumsson. Iceland finished 4th in their group with a disappointing record of 3 wins, 1 draw and 6 defeats, but were eligible for the play-offs thanks to their performance in the Nations League. In the semi-final of the Path B play-offs, Iceland set a benchmark against a top 100 FIFA team for the first time in several years by brushing aside Israel 4–1, thanks to a hat-trick from Albert Guðmundsson, while Israel finished the match with 10 men and missed a penalty to equalise. In the decisive match against Ukraine, Iceland opened the scoring through Albert Guðmundsson and led at half-time, but conceded 2 goals in the second half and lost (1–2) in a similar fashion to the previous Euro play-off lost in Budapest against the Hungarians.

Iceland then had a complicated 2024–2025 Nations League, as they were relegated to League C for the next edition, despite having started in the highest League (League A) for the first 2 seasons. Strákarnir okkar finished 3rd in their group, just ahead of Montenegro, whom they beat 2–0 on each occasion, but suffered 3 heavy defeats (against Wales away and twice against Turkey) and a home draw against the Welsh. Iceland's penultimate place in the group means they are eligible for the 2024–2025 Nations League promotion/relegation play-offs, where they face Kosovo, who finished 2nd in their League C group. Iceland lost the first leg 1–2 in Pristina and had to turn the tie around in the home leg, which was actually played on neutral ground at the Estadio Nueva Condomina in Murcia, Spain,^[55] due to renovation work at Laugardalsvöllur, Iceland's only stadium to UEFA standards.^[56] Deprived of this advantage and reduced to 10 men during the match, they lost again 1–3 (2–5 on aggregate) and failed to maintain their place in League B.