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The world's biggest tournament is just around the corner. The stage is set to witness some master-class performances.
Germany are the defending champions of the FIFA World Cup. They defeated Argentina by 1-0 in the finals of 2014 World Cup.
Iceland will be participating in the World Cup for the very first time. Thus, it would be quite interesting to watch them playing against the world-class players. Iceland have been pooled with Argentina, Croatia and Nigeria. The main squad of Iceland was announced on 11th May 2018.
Iceland Squad : Hannes Halldorsson, Runar Runarsson , Frederik Schram , Kari Arnason , Holmar Eyjolfsson , Rurik Gislason ,Sverrir Ingason, Hordur Magnusson ,Birkir Saevarsson, Ragnar Sigurdsso, Ari Skulason, Birkir Bjarnason, Samuel Fridjonsson, Johann Gudmundsson, Aron Gunnarsson, Emil Hallfredsson, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Olafur Skulason, Arnor Traustason, Jon Bodvarsson, Alfred Finnbogason, Albert Gudmundsson, Bjorn Sigurdarson
Let's look onto the five Icelandic players to watch our for in this tournament.
1) Birkir Bjarnason
Birkir is currently playing as a central midfielder for Aston Villa in the English Championship. He has played 65 matches for the Iceland national team and scored 9 goals.
Birkir used to play for Pescara in the Seria A 2014-15. Later, he was signed by FC Basel for £1 Million. He played 42 matches in the Swiss Super League and scored 14 goals. In the current season, he has appeared for Aston Villa in 33 matches and scored 4 goals.
The 30-year-old was a member of the Iceland squad in Euro 2016. Moreover, he was also the one who scored the most goals for Iceland in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
Birkir would be up to show his emphatic skills in front of the world class players and attract different clubs towards himself.
2) Aron Gunnarsson
Gunnarsson will be leading the team in their first-ever appearance in the World Cup. He is currently playing as a midfielder for Cardiff City FC who competes in the English Premier League. He has played 77 matches for the Iceland national team.
Gunnarsson played for Coventry City in the English Championship. He has played 123 games for them and scored 6 goals. Cardiff City joined Gunnarsson in 2011 and he's been playing for them since then. In his 243 appearances for Cardiff City, he has scored 24 goals. Though Gunnarsson's current season isn't going up to the mark, his experience makes him a credible player for the team. In 2017-18 season, Gunnarsson has played 20 matches and has managed to score just one goal.
Gunnarsson would be having a huge responsibility on his head as the captain of the team. He would be up to lead his team to the knockout stages of the tournament and finish at a respectable position.
3)Gylfi Sigurðsson
Gylfi Sigurdsson is the most experienced midfielder in the entire squad. He has been playing in the Premier League for about 5 years now. He is currently playing for Everton. He has made 55 appearances for the Iceland national team and scored 18 goals.
He played for Reading in the English Championship. He scored 18 goals in his 42 appearances for them. In 2012, Gylfi was signed by Tottenham Hotspur at a fee of $8.8 million. He made 58 appearances for them and scored 8 goals. He returned back to Swansea City in 2014. He scored 27 goals for them in his 106 appearances. Later, he joined Everton for £ 40 million. In the current season, Gylfi has played 33 matches for Everton and has managed to score 6 goals.
Iceland would be dependent upon Gylfi's experience in the tournament. He would be up to exhibit his experience in the world's biggest soccer league.
4)Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson
Johann is currently playing as a winger for Burnley in the English Premier League. He has played 65 matches for the Iceland national team and scored 7 goals.
Johann played for AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Championship between 2009-2014 where he made 119 appearances and scored 9 goals. In 2014, Charlton Athletic signed him for a two-year contract. He scored 16 goals in his 81 matches for them. Later, Burnley signed him for a three-year deal and has made 54 appearances for them till now. He has played 38 matches in the English Premier League this season and has managed to score 3 goals.
Johann's experience in the Premier League would be up in the World Cup to guide his team to victories. He'll be able to exhibit his phenomenal skills in the World Cup and impress the entire soccer fraternity.
5) Alfreð Finnbogason
Alfred is currently playing for FC Augsburg in the Bundesliga League. He has played 45 matches for the Iceland national team and scored 15 goals for them.
In 2012, Heerenveen signed Alfred for a three-year contract. He scored 53 goals in his 63 appearances for the team. In 2014, he was signed by the La Liga club Real Sociedad for a fee of £ 10 million. He scored 2 goals for them in his 23 matches. Currently, he's signed with FC Augsburg. Alfred has been exceptional for FC Augsburg in this season. He has scored a total of 12 goals in his 20 appearances in this season.
Alfred was one of the players who played a key role in the qualification of Iceland in the World Cup. His goals against Turkey and Finland proved to be victorious for the team in the qualifiers.
Alfred would be up to score some good numbers of goals for the team and lead them to the knockout stages.
