This Tuesday, the qualification campaign of the French team will see the Blues of Didier Deschamps face Iceland for the first place of his group. After their 2-0 victory against Ukraine, the Habs will cross the iron with Strákarnir Okkar who only made a bite of Azerbaijan (5-0). A perfect start to Iceland which is experiencing a new cycle with the emergence of a new selection. Among these new strong men, there are obviously the Lille Hakon Haraldsson or Albert Gudmundsson which evolves on the side of the Fiorentina. There are also Andri and Daniel, the sons of the legend Eidur Gudjohnsen who play in attack.
With these players, Iceland intends to raise its head after a few complicated years. Indeed, since its quarter -final at Euro 2016 and the historic qualification for the 2018 World Cup, island training has experienced a level of level. This is of course explained by the aging of its golden generation. In the current team, only Sverrir Ingason and Hörður Magnússon competed in Euro 2016. But also by the loss of the unit around this national team which brought a good bowl of fresh air from the North. With its clapping and its blue waves in the stands, Iceland was this David of football who manages to overthrow Goliath like this 2-1 magic victory against England at Euro 2016 or this draw against Argentina (0-0) at the 2018 World Cup. Since then, Iceland has not played the slightest international competition.
Rapes and sexual assaults, the federation has covered
In addition to this sports decline, the image of this team has been deteriorated. Star of the team and important premier league player, Gylfi Sigurðsson was accused of sexual abuse on minor. Staying almost three years without playing, he then rebounded in Lyngby, Valur and Vikingur. He was able to find the selection in October 2023 then between September and October 2024. If the proceedings ended for the 36 -year -old player, his end of career and his image were no longer the same. But this is clearly not the only case that has blurred the image of Icelandic football. Thus, þórhildur Gyða Arnarsdóttir revealed that it had been attacked in 2017 as was a friend by an Icelandic international. The president of the Gu insurance Guðni Bergsson covered the case and he was pushed to leave the federation with 15 people.
“He asked me if I was ready to sign a non-disclosure agreement and to receive a monetary return. And I naturally said no. I still received another telephone call from another lawyer who invited me to a meeting where the member of the national team wanted to apologize. He apologized and admitted what he had done to me. He did not question anything ” had also explained þórhildur gyða Arnarsdóttir to RUV. The accused player was not just any since it was the top scorer in the selection, the former Nantes Kolbeinn Sigþórsson (26 goals in 64 games). Now retired since 2022, he had been pushed to the exit by his club from IFK Göteborg. But this is not an isolated case and other players were covered as reported The Athletic.
This is the case of the historic captain Aron Gunnarsson and the defender Eggert Jónsson who would have made a rape in a hotel in Copenhagen in 2010 on an Icelandic. “In 2010, I was raped by two Icelandic men abroad. I had drunk alcohol, but I suspect that someone put something in my glass, it could have been anyone. To make a long and miserable short story, I vomited on one of them in the taxi on the way to their hotel, then again on the hotel bed, but they did not allow themselves to be stopped and took turns to rape me while I slept. In bed without pants with vomit in hair, face and clothes… ”said the victim in a press release on Instagram. Rúnar Már Sigurjónsson was also accused of sexual assault. These different players were not convicted. And the new darling Albert Gudmundsonn was also accused of rape before finally being declared innocent by the court of Reykjavík. After these sex scandals, Iceland now raise your head and write a great story again as it has been able to do in the past.
