Iceland with a population of just 330,000 people managed to qualify in 2018 FIFA World Cup.They defeated Kosova 2-0 on Monday to secure a place for the 1st time ever in World Cup finals in Russia next year.Iceland is also the winners of their Group I,winning 7 of their 10 games with 22 points.
Iceland is the 1st ever country with population less than 1 million to qualify for FIFA World Cup.The previous smallest country to have reached the finals was Trinidad & Tobago, in 2006, with 1.3 million people.
Everton’s Gylfi Sigurdsson and Burnley’s Johann Gudmundsson got the goals on Monday evening. Gylfi Sigurdsson settled with a superbly taken goal five minutes before halftime as Iceland proved that their run to the 2016 European Championship quarter-finals, which included wins over Austria and England, was not mere luck.
Sigurdsson also set up the second for Johann Gudmundsson midway through the second half as Iceland completed the campaign by winning their final three games without conceding a goal.
Hallgrimsson, a part-time dentist is the sole manager after Euro 2016.
After the game, a good number of the country’s football fans descended on Ingolfstorg Square to pay tribute to their heroes, who will be looking to build on last year’s impressive showing at the European Championship.They watched on as Iceland’s players and staff celebrated reaching their first ever World Cup by singing and dancing on stage despite the bitterly cold weather in the country’s capital.
