FIFA World Cup 2018: Shaping history with part-time professions, story of Iceland
Iceland football team rise in world football has been an amazing story. It has been two since they played their first major tournament i.e Euro 2016, where they pulled off one of the upsets by eliminating England in the Round of 16.
After Euro success, the tiny nation went from strength to strength and the reason behind their rise in world football has been their coach Heimir Hallgrimsson who took over the reigns of the team coaching after Euro 2016. Having worked part-time as a dentist on the island of Vestmannaeyjar, Hallgrimsson has turned the team into one solid unit, who can give top nations a run for their money.
Iceland went onto make yet another history as they became the first smallest nation to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The team qualified for the tournament after topping their group and finishing ahead of teams such as Croatia, Ukraine, and Turkey, which shows that they are not here to make up numbers at the world stage.
Having being placed in the group comprising of teams like Argentina, Nigeria, and Croatia, Heimir Hallgrimsson side had a great start to their debut campaign holding two-time winners Argentina to 1-1 draw. Goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson grabbed the headline as he managed to stop Lionel Messi penalty and help his team win a crucial point.
The 32-year-old goalkeeper, Hannes Halldorsson, who made a name for himself at World Cup after saving Lionel Messi’s penalty to help his team earn draw against Argentina who also doubles up as a film director. His film-making CV includes the video clip for Iceland's 2012 Eurovision song contest entry, a rousing World Cup promotional film for the team, and a commercial for a World Cup corporate sponsor.
Defender Birkir Mar Saevarsson works in a salt-packing factor back home and actually had to take permission from work to play at the World Cup in Russia.
Iceland has two more games to go against Nigeria on June 22 and then Croatia on June 26 and they will be making a strong push to knock out contenders Argentina and go onto creating yet another history.
