Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
It must be a Nordic trait that their Managers don’t need to bother with provisional squads as like Sweden. Then again it may just be a Swedish one as like his compatriot Erik Hamren, Lars Lagerback has gone straight in with a selection of 23 players for this Summer’s European Championships.
They stunned Holland in qualification beating them home and away to qualify for a major championship for the first time. They didn’t just take a place at Holland’s expense they finished second in a group which also included qualifiers Czech Republic and Turkey. A remarkable achievement and although they may be one of the tournament outsiders they will certainly get a lot of support from neutrals who are watching around Europe and the World.
Wales seems to be the hotbed of Icelandic Football as Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson and Cardiff’s Aron Gunnarsson have been selected in Midfield. The English Leagues’s trio is completed by Johann Gudmundsson
And of course it wouldn’t be an Icelandic squad without the evergreen Eidur Gudjohnsen, the former Chelsea and Barcelona forward now plys his trade with Norwegian side Molde. At age 38 Gudjohnsen plays further down the pitch and can usually be found as a link up man but his raft of big game experience will be absolutely crucial if Iceland are to continue their Footballing fairytale. If Leicester can win the Premier League then you never know what is around the corner
Below is the full squad
Goalkeepers: Hannes Halldorsson (Bodo/Glimt), Ogmundur Kristinsson (Hammarby), Ingvar Jonsson (Sandefjord).
Defenders: Ari Skulason (OB), Hordur Magnusson (Cesena), Hjortur Hermannsson (PSV Eindhoven), Ragnar Sigurdsson (Krasnodar), Kari Arnason (Malmo), Sverrir Ingi Ingason (Lokeren), Birkir Sævarsson (Hammarby), Haukur Heidar Hauksson (AIK).
Midfielders: Emil Hallfredsson (Udinese), Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea), Aron Gunnarsson (Cardiff), Theodor Elmar Bjarnason (AGF), Arnor Ingvi Traustason (Norrkoping), Birkir Bjarnason (Basel), Johann Gudmundsson (Charlton), Eidur Gudjohnsen (Molde), Runar Mar Sigurjonsson (Sundsvall).
Forwards: Kolbeinn Sigthorsson (Nantes), Alfred Finnbogason (Augsburg), Jon Dadi Bodvarsson (Kaiserslautern)
