Iceland

Home; 2016/18

Clap..……clap…….clap…...clap….clap...clap...clap..clap.clapclapclap.

The sound of Euro 2016, the ‘Viking Thunder Clap’ was Iceland’s gift to the world as they made their debut appearance at a senior men’s international competition. But on the field Iceland made their mark too. Most famously, they stunned the English nation to its very core with their come-from-behind 2-1 win where all three goals came within the first twenty minutes (best summed up by this genius bit of audio from the Second Captains podcast). Coming just four days after the UK shot themselves in the foot by voting to leave the EU, Joe Hart’s weak wrists ensured England’s other foot didn’t go unscathed either as they removed themselves from football’s European collective. Iceland would be knocked out by hosts France in a 5-2 defeat in the next round.

The shirt was retained for the subsequent qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup. Despite a tough group which contained Croatia, Turkey and Ukraine, Iceland were able to maintain their form to top that group and reach their first ever World Cup finals. The shirt was also worn over the winter and spring for a series of friendlies and the China Cup, an unusual four-team competition hosted by the Chinese FA in partnership with some private corporations and a regional authority. A new shirt by Errea was launched in 2018 ahead of the World Cup.

So this shirt is one that evokes great memories for Iceland, and it is for that reason I have been holding out for this specific model. It is visually striking, with the rich colours of the Iceland flag used for the vertical stripe. Vertical stripes behind the crest is something that has been seen every now and then for decades, but the bubble effect here makes it nicely modern. I’m not a massive fan of the Errea collar on other versions of this template, but on this shirt I actually think it looks well.

Eidur Gudjohnsen is Iceland’s leading goalscorer, with 26 goals in 88 games, and also their best known player. He played for both Barcelona and Chelsea, winning two Premier Leagues, one Champions League and La Liga title, as well as various minor competitions. Eidur also holds the novel distinction of making his international debut in a game his father Arnor also played, away to Estonia. Annoyingly, Eidur came on as a substitute for his father so they did not play any minutes together. Eidur himself is quoted as saying that the reason for this was that the Icelandic FA president wanted to keep that piece of history for home soil in the next game, perhaps in a bid to sell extra tickets. But alas, Eidur broke his leg in an underage game in the mean time, and when he finally made his second senior appearance for Iceland his father had already retired.