Euro 2020 qualifiers: Iceland 0-4 France - 5 talking points and analysis

#3 Iceland fail to inspire

Gylfi Sigurdsson

The story of Icelandic football has been nothing short of a fairy-tale. Having been in the dumps for the majority of the 20th century, they found themselves playing among the world’s elite through the 2010s.

The Icelanders’ appearance at the European Championships in 2016 was succeeded by a historic debut at the FIFA World Cup last year. Moreover, they gave a decent account of themselves on both occasions.

Yet, since their run at the World Cup came to a halt, Iceland has found it hard to replicate their exploits.

The visitors have never been the most effervescent offensive side. But, they carried enough counter-attacking threat to keep the opponents honest. However, against France, they appeared listless and could only muster 4 shots on target.

The away side also conceded possession and had only 24 per cent of the ball for the entirety of the game. Thus, placing additional emphasis on their defensive organisation. And Iceland eventually wilted under pressure to ship in four goals.

For a while, the Icelanders’ biggest asset has been their ability to get through contests courtesy of sheer will. However, with teams having worked out their game-plan, Iceland needs to devise a method to supplement their doggedness.

Failure to do so could lead to some very troubling times in the future.