Learn more about ICELAND NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM history and scores

Learn more about ICELAND NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM history and scores.

The Iceland men's national football team is the national men's football team of Iceland and is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland.


While historically one of Europe's minnows, Iceland have enjoyed more success since the end of the 20th century. In the qualifying rounds for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Iceland reached the play-offs before losing to Croatia. Iceland reached its first major tournament, UEFA Euro 2016, after a qualification campaign which included home and away wins over the Netherlands. After surprisingly advancing to the knockout stages of the Euro 2016, Iceland defeated England in the round of 16; a result that many consider one of the most shocking in European football history.

In a friendly against Estonia on 24 April 1996 in Tallinn, Ei?ur Smári Gu?johnsen entered as a substitute for his father Arnór. This marked the first time that a father and son played in the same international match.

Although the Football Association of Iceland was founded in 1921, the first match of the national team was only played on 29 July 1930 against the Faroe Islands. Iceland won away, 1-0. However, both teams remained unaffiliated with FIFA. The first match officially recognised by FIFA took place in Reykjavík against Denmark on 27 July 1946, which Iceland lost 0-3. For the first twenty years of the KSÍ's existence, the team did not participate in qualifying for the World Cup or the European Football Championship. The first attempt was not made until 1954, however, its entry to participate was rejected. Iceland attempted to qualify for the 1958 World Cup, but came last in their group, winless, and with 26 goals against. With the exception of the 1964 European Championships, Iceland did not attempt to qualify for major tournaments. Since 1974, the team has attempted to qualify for every World Cup and European Championship, but without success. In 1994, the team was awarded their then-best ever position in the FIFA rankings, with 37th.

In qualification for Euro 2004, Iceland had its best ever performance in a qualifying tournament, finishing third, 1 point behind Scotland. If they had finished second, they would have made a playoff spot.

In 2014, Iceland almost became the smallest nation to qualify for a FIFA World Cup. Finishing second in Group D, they played Croatia in a two-leg playoff for qualification. After holding them to a 0-0 draw in the home leg, they lost 2-0 away.

Iceland qualified for a major tournament for the first time in 2015 after finishing second in Group A of qualification for Euro 2016, losing only two games, and beating the Netherlands, who had finished third in the 2014 World Cup, twice. During the qualification, they reached their highest ranking in the FIFA World Rankings, 23rd. They were drawn into a group with Portugal, Hungary, and Austria for the final tournament.

At the Euro 2016, Iceland recorded 1-1 draws in their first two pool matches against Portugal and Hungary respectively. They then advanced from their pool with a 2-1 victory against Austria. Iceland qualified for the tournament's quarter-finals after defeating England 2-1 in the Round of 16.