Iceland hope to atone for bad results

ICELAND know that defeat against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday will put them right out of the race to qualify for the World Cup finals in France.

They will be hoping to atone for a string of results which has left them with just a single point and one goal scored from its first three World Cup qualifying matches.

A scrappy 1-1 draw with Macedonia in Reykjavik in June followed by defeats against Lithuania in Vilnius and Romania in Reykjavik last month have left the side with the daunting task of securing at least a point against a team currently 35 places above them in the FIFA world rankings.

In a country almost the size of all Ireland and a population of only 265,000 soccer is by far Iceland's most popular participant sport with some 20,000 registered players of both sexes and at all levels.

Thousands more armchair fans follow the sport each week on TV, where the country's four terrestrial channels serve up live coverage of two English Premiership and two Serie A matches each week, along with Champions' League games and internationals.

At the top level, senior football is organised into three divisions of 10 teams, with a fourth played on a regional basis and a number of feeder leagues completing the picture.

In recent years, Icelandic football has undergone profound and radical change. As the top clubs have moved increasingly towards semi professionalism, standards have risen dramatically and more players than ever are plying their trade abroad.

Although reduced, like their Irish counterparts, to the role of spectators in the Champions' League, reaching at least the second phrase is now the expectation of any club involved in European competition. In recent years, most of them have.

Icelandic football is faced with the problem of a summer season lasting only four months and a winter climate which makes serious outdoor training impossible. Domestic clubs desperately require indoor pitches of the type which have revolutionised the game among their Nordic neighbours. At present, plans are afoot to build one such facility, but money is tight and several more are needed if the game is to continue to develop.

Icelandic football has to some extent become a victim of its own success. As standards have risen, so too have public expectations, often fuelled by hyped up advertising of the kind required to persuade punters to part with the £20 or more for a seat to watch the national side.

Despite its problems, Iceland continues to produce an encouraging stream of young talent. Next summer, the country will host the European Under 18 Championships, while the Under 16 side has already booked a place in next year's European Championship finals in Germany.

Finally, like all good Irish tales and Icelandic sagas, one story surrounding Sunday's game has a neat twist in its tail.

While around 300 Icelanders are expected to make the trip to Dublin, a 200 strong battalion of Mick McCarthy's Green Army will be travelling in the opposite direction. Unable to secure tickets at home, they are going to Reykjavik to watch the game on television in the not too unfamiliar surroundings of the city's Irish pub, The Dubliner.