Iceland national under-21 football team
 | |||
| Nickname(s) | Strákarnir okkar | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Knattspyrnusamband Íslands | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | Davíð Snorri Jónasson | ||
| FIFA code | ISL | ||
| |||
| UEFA U-21 Championship | |||
| Appearances | 2 (first in 2011) | ||
| Best result | Round 1 (2011, 2021) | ||
The Iceland men's national under-21 football team is a 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 men's 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 two occasions, most recently in 2021. In the 2011 and 2021 tournaments 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 Eiður Guðjohnsen, Heiðar Helguson, Jón Daði Böðvarsson and Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson.
History[]
From 1978 to 2009 the team never qualified for the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 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 victory 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]
Iceland qualified to the tournament for the second time in 2021.[7]
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 to 2019 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
  2021
|
Group Stage | 15th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | –7 |
| Total | 0 Titles | 0/2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 13 | –9 |
2021 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship[]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy
|
10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 5 | +22 | 25 | Final tournament | — | 3–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 6–0 | 5–0 | |
| 2 | Iceland
|
10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 12 | +7 | 21 | 1–2 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 6–1 | 3–0 | ||
| 3 | Republic of Ireland
|
10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 19 | 0–0 | 1–2 | — | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 4 | Sweden
|
10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 31 | 12 | +19 | 18 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 1–3 | — | 10–0 | 4–0 | ||
| 5 | Armenia
|
10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 33 | −29 | 3[a] | 0–1 | 0–3[b] | 0–1 | 0–3[c] | — | 2–0 | ||
| 6 | Luxembourg
|
10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 29 | −26 | 3[a] | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | — |
- ^ a b Ranked on head-to-head goal difference: Armenia +1, Luxembourg −1.
- ^ The Armenia v Iceland match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Iceland after being cancelled as Armenia could not travel to the match due to positive SARS-CoV-2 tests in the team.[8]
- ^ The Armenia v Sweden match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Sweden after being cancelled as Armenia could not travel to the match due to positive SARS-CoV-2 tests in the team.[8]
Recent results and forthcoming fixtures[]
Current squad[]
The following players were named in the squad for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship group matches against Russia, Denmark and France, played on 25 March, 28 March and 31 March 2021 respectively.[9] All caps and goals are correct as of 31 March 2021.
Recent call-ups[]
The following players are still eligible for and have previously been called up to the under-21 squad.
Previous squads[]
- 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squad
- 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squad
Records[]
Most caps[]
As of 31 March 2021, the 10 players with the most U-21 caps for Iceland are:[10]
| Rank | Name | Career | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alfons Sampsted | 2017–2020 | 30 | 1 |
| 2 | Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson | 2007–2012 | 27 | 2 |
| 3 | Bjarni Viðarsson | 2005–2011 | 26 | 6 |
| 4 | Birkir Bjarnason | 2006–2011 | 25 | 3 |
| 5 | Jón Dagur Þorsteinsson | 2017–2021 | 23 | 5 |
| 6 | Orri Sigurður Ómarsson | 2013–2016 | 21 | 0 |
| Alex Þór Hauksson | 2017–2021 | 21 | 1 | |
| 8 | Ari Leifsson | 2017–2021 | 20 | 1 |
| 9 | Pétur Marteinsson | 1992–1995 | 19 | 0 |
| Bjarni Guðjónsson | 1996–2001 | 19 | 4 | |
| Ómar Jóhannsson | 2000–2003 | 19 | 0 | |
| Rúrik Gíslason | 2005–2011 | 19 | 6 | |
| Haraldur Björnsson | 2007–2011 | 19 | 0 | |
| Willum Þór Willumsson | 2018–2021 | 19 | 3 |
In bold players still playing or available for selection.
Top goalscorers[]
As of 31 March 2021, the 10 players with the most U-21 goals for Iceland are:
| Rank | Name | Career | Goals | Caps | GPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emil Atlason | 2012–2014 | 8 | 12 | 0.67 |
| 2 | Hannes Sigurðsson | 2002–2005 | 7 | 14 | 0.50 |
| Sveinn Aron Guðjohnsen | 2018–2021 | 7 | 17 | 0.41 | |
| 4 | Gylfi Sigurðsson | 2007–2011 | 6 | 14 | 0.43 |
| Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson | 2008–2011 | 6 | 14 | 0.43 | |
| Albert Guðmundsson | 2015–2018 | 6 | 15 | 0.40 | |
| Rúrik Gíslason | 2005–2011 | 6 | 19 | 0.32 | |
| Bjarni Viðarsson | 2005–2011 | 6 | 26 | 0.23 | |
| 9 | Eyjólfur Sverrisson | 1988–1989 | 5 | 5 | 1.00 |
| Hólmbert Friðjónsson | 2012–2014 | 5 | 10 | 0.50 | |
| Alfreð Finnbogason | 2009–2011 | 5 | 11 | 0.45 | |
| Sigurvin Ólafsson | 1995–1997 | 5 | 18 | 0.28 | |
| Jón Dagur Þorsteinsson | 2017–2021 | 5 | 23 | 0.22 |
In bold players still playing or available for selection.
See also[]
- Iceland national football team
- Iceland national under-19 football team
- Iceland national under-17 football team
References[]
- ^ "2011: Spain's boys of summer dazzle". UEFA.com. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ "Euro U21 2011 (Qual.)". ZeroZero. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ "Euro U21 2011 (Qual.)". ZeroZero. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ "Iceland 3-1 Denmark". ZeroZero. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ "Euro U21 2011". ZeroZero. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ "U21 all-star squad named by UEFA technical team". UEFA.com. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ "2021 Under-21 EURO: Meet the finalists". uefa.com. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ a b "AB: Armenian under-21 national team". UEFA.com. 24 November 2020.
- ^ "Hópur U21 karla fyrir EM 2021". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). KSÍ. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ Sigurðsson, Víðir (2019). Íslensk knattspyrna 2019 [Icelandic football 2019] (in Icelandic) (1st ed.).
External links[]
- Official Site (in Icelandic)
- Official Site under-21 results (in Icelandic)
- Profile & squad at UEFA.com
| National teams | |
|---|---|
| League system |
|
| Domestic cups |
|
| Annual tournaments |
|
| Youth | |
| Culture | |
- European national under-21 association football teams
- Iceland national football team