Iceland national under-21 football team
| Shirt badge/Association crest | |||
| Nickname(s) | Strákarnir okkar | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Knattspyrnusamband Íslands | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | Eyjólfur Sverrisson | ||
| FIFA code | ISL | ||
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| UEFA U-21 Championship | |||
| Appearances | 1 (First in 2011) | ||
| Best result | Round 1 (2011) | ||
The Iceland national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Iceland and is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland. The team is considered to be the feeder team for the senior Icelandic national football team. Since the establishment of the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in 1978, the team has reached the Euro Championship finals on one occasion in 2011 where they were knocked out in the group stages.[1]
The team is for Icelandic players aged under 21 at the start of the calendar year in which a two-year European Under-21 Football Championship campaign begins, so some players can remain with the squad until the age of 23. As long as they are eligible, players can play for Iceland at any level, making it possible to play for the U21s, senior side, and again for the U21s. This has been the case for several senior team players like Aron Gunnarsson, Eiður Guðjohnsen, Heiðar Helguson and Kolbeinn Sigþórsson.
Contents
History
From 1978 to 2009 the team never qualified for tournament finals. In late 2010, the team sealed qualification to the championships for the very first team in their history. During the qualification stage they finished second in their group behind the Czech Republic and qualified for the playoffs as a result of being one of the best runners-up in the whole qualification process. Their most notable win came in a 4–1 home win over Germany.[2] In the next stage they played against Scotland in a two-legged affair in which they won 4–2 on aggregate over the two games.[3]
Their remarkable qualification campaign saw them qualify for the finals where they were drawn against Belarus, Denmark and Switzerland in Group A. In their first two group games they were comfortably beaten by Belarus and Switzerland. In their final group game they defeated Denmark who were the hosts of the tournament 3–1.[4] Iceland would finish third in the group, level on points with the second placed and fourth placed teams.[5] Following the end of the tournament, UEFA announced its Team of the Tournament with striker Kolbeinn Sigþórsson named on the list.[6]
Competition records
UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 to 2009 | Did Not Qualify | ||||||||
 2011 |
Group Stage | 5th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | - 2 |
| 2013 | Did Not Qualify | ||||||||
| 2015 | Did Not Qualify | ||||||||
| Total | 0 Titles | 0/1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 |
2017 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
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| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  France |
7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 14 | Final tournament |
| 2 |  Iceland |
6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 12 | Possible Play-offs |
| 3 |  Macedonia |
7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 12 | |
| 4 |  Scotland |
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8 | |
| 5 |  Ukraine |
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 4 | |
| 6 |  Northern Ireland (X) |
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 1 |
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(X) Cannot qualify directly as the top team, but may still qualify for the play-offs.
Recent results and forthcoming fixtures
Current squad
The following players were named in the squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match against Ukraine and Scotland, played on 8 and 13 October 2015.[7] All caps and goals are correct as of 13 October 2015.
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Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up to the under-21 squad since the start of 2015.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson | 18 February 1995 | 12 | 0 | Nordsjælland |
v. France; 5 September 2015 (2017 UEFA U-21 qualification) |
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| GK | Fannar Hafsteinsson | 30 June 1995 | 0 | 0 | KA |
v. Macedonia; 11 June 2015 (2017 UEFA U-21 qualification) |
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| GK | Sveinn Sigurður Jóhannesson | 22 January 1995 | 1 | 0 | Stjarnan |
v.  Romania; 26 March 2015 (Friendly match) |
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| DF | Ívar Örn Jónsson | 2 February 1994 | 0 | 0 | Víkingur R. |
v. Macedonia; 11 June 2015 (2017 UEFA U-21 qualification) |
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| DF | Aron Rúnarsson Heiðdal | 30 January 1995 | 0 | 0 | Stjarnan |
v. Macedonia; 11 June 2015 (2017 UEFA U-21 qualification) |
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| DF | Samúel Kári Friðjónsson | 22 February 1996 | 1 | 0 |  Reading |
v. Romania; 26 March 2015 (Friendly match) |
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| MF | Davíð Örn Atlason | 18 August 1994 | 1 | 0 | Víkingur R. |
v. Macedonia; 11 June 2015 (2017 UEFA U-21 qualification) |
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| MF | Gunnar Þorsteinsson | 1 February 1994 | 4 | 0 | ÍBV |
v. Romania; 26 March 2015 (Friendly match) |
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| FW | Albert Guðmundsson | 15 June 1997 | 1 | 0 |  PSV |
v. Romania; 26 March 2015 (Friendly match) |
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|}
Previous squads
Notable former players
See also
- Iceland national football team
- Iceland national under-19 football team
- Iceland national under-17 football team
References
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- ↑ http://www.ksi.is/media/landslid/U21karla/U21-KK-press-1-26ag-2015.pdf
External links
- Official Site (Icelandic)
- Official Site under-21 results (Icelandic)
- Profile & squad at UEFA.com
