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]
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Nickname(s) | Strákarnir okkar | ||
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Association | Knattspyrnusamband Íslands | ||
Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
Head coach | Davíð Snorri Jónasson | ||
FIFA code | ISL | ||
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UEFA U-21 Championship | |||
Appearances | 2 (first in 2011) | ||
Best result | Round 1 (2011, 2021) |
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.
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]
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
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1978 to 2009 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
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Group Stage | 5th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | –2 |
2013 to 2019 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
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Group Stage | 15th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | –7 |
Total | 0 Titles | 0/2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 13 | –9 |
Pos | Team
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Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ![]() |
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1 | ![]() |
10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 3 | +38 | 28 | Final tournament | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 11–0 | |
2 | ![]() |
10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 25 | 7 | +18 | 18 | Play-offs | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 9–0 | |
3 | ![]() |
10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 10 | +6 | 17 | 0–4 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | ||
4 | ![]() |
10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 15 | +1 | 12 | 1–5 | 1–2 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 | 6–0 | ||
5 | ![]() |
10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 11 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | — | 6–0 | ||
6 | ![]() |
10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 63 | −63 | 0 | 0–9 | 0–3 | 0–5 | 0–4 | 0–6 | — |
The four play-off winners qualify for the final tournament. All times are CEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
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Croatia ![]() |
1 | ![]() |
23 September 2022 | 27 September 2022 |
Slovakia ![]() |
2 | ![]() |
23 September 2022 | 27 September 2022 |
Republic of Ireland ![]() |
3 | ![]() |
23 September 2022 | 27 September 2022 |
Iceland ![]() |
4 | ![]() |
23 September 2022 | 27 September 2022 |
Date | Competition | Location | Opponent | Result | Scorers |
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2 September 2021 |
2023 UEFA U-21 qualification |
OSK Brestsky, Brest, Belarus | ![]() |
2–1 |
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7 September 2021 |
2023 UEFA U-21 qualification |
Víkingsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland | ![]() |
1–1 |
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12 October 2021 |
2023 UEFA U-21 qualification |
Víkingsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland | ![]() |
0–1 |
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12 November 2021 |
2023 UEFA U-21 qualification |
Sportpark Eschen-Mauren, Eschen, Liechtenstein | ![]() |
3–0 |
|
16 November 2021 |
2023 UEFA U-21 qualification |
Theodoros Kolokotronis Stadium, Tripoli, Greece | ![]() |
0–1 |
|
25 March 2022 |
2023 UEFA U-21 qualification |
Estádio Municipal de Portimão, Portimão, Portugal | ![]() |
1–1 |
|
29 March 2022 |
2023 UEFA U-21 qualification |
Dasaki Stadium, Achna, Cyprus | ![]() |
1–1 |
|
3 June 2022 |
2023 UEFA U-21 qualification |
Víkingsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland | ![]() |
9–0 |
Kristian Hlynsson (x2) Atli Barkarson (x2) Ísak Snær Þorvaldsson (x2) Brynjólfur Willumsson (x2) Kristall Máni Ingason |
8 June 2022 |
2023 UEFA U-21 qualification |
Víkingsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland | ![]() |
3–1 |
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11 June 2022 |
2023 UEFA U-21 qualification |
Víkingsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland | ![]() |
5–0 |
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23 September 2022 |
2023 UEFA U-21 qualification play-offs |
Víkingsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland | ![]() |
1–2 |
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27 September 2022 |
2023 UEFA U-21 qualification play-offs |
Stadion Střelecký ostrov, České Budějovice, Czech Republic | ![]() |
0–0 |
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1GK | Hákon Rafn Valdimarsson | (2001-10-13) 13 October 2001 (age 20) | 8 | 0 | ![]() | |||
1GK | Adam Ingi Benediktsson | (2002-10-28) 28 October 2002 (age 19) | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |||
1GK | Ólafur Kristófer Helgason | (2002-10-24) 24 October 2002 (age 19) | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |||
2DF | Ísak Ólafsson | (2000-06-30) 30 June 2000 (age 22) | 18 | 2 | ![]() | |||
2DF | Valgeir Lunddal Friðriksson | (2001-09-24) 24 September 2001 (age 21) | 11 | 0 | ![]() | |||
2DF | Róbert Orri Þorkelsson | (2002-04-03) 3 April 2002 (age 20) | 11 | 0 | ![]() | |||
2DF | Atli Barkarson | (2001-03-19) 19 March 2001 (age 21) | 7 | 2 | ![]() | |||
2DF | Óli Valur Ómarsson | (2003-01-09) 9 January 2003 (age 19) | 4 | 0 | ![]() | |||
2DF | Logi Tómasson | (2000-09-13) 13 September 2000 (age 22) | 2 | 0 | ![]() | |||
3MF | Kolbeinn Þórðarson | (2000-03-12) 12 March 2000 (age 22) | 19 | 1 | ![]() | |||
3MF | Ágúst Hlynsson | (2000-03-28) 28 March 2000 (age 22) | 11 | 1 | ![]() | |||
3MF | Viktor Örlygur Andrason | (2000-02-05) 5 February 2000 (age 22) | 10 | 1 | ![]() | |||
3MF | Kristian Hlynsson | (2004-01-23) 23 January 2004 (age 18) | 10 | 6 | ![]() | |||
3MF | Andri Baldursson | (2002-01-10) 10 January 2002 (age 20) | 10 | 0 | ![]() | |||
3MF | Dagur Dan Þórhallsson | (2000-05-02) 2 May 2000 (age 22) | 7 | 0 | ![]() | |||
3MF | Sveinn Margeir Hauksson | (2001-11-02) 2 November 2001 (age 20) | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |||
4FW | Brynjólfur Andersen Willumsson | (2000-08-12) 12 August 2000 (age 22) | 25 | 5 | ![]() | |||
4FW | Bjarki Steinn Bjarkason | (2000-05-11) 11 May 2000 (age 22) | 14 | 0 | ![]() | |||
4FW | Sævar Atli Magnússon | (2000-06-16) 16 June 2000 (age 22) | 11 | 2 | ![]() | |||
4FW | Orri Óskarsson | (2004-08-29) 29 August 2004 (age 18) | 6 | 0 | ![]() | |||
4FW | Þorleifur Úlfarsson | (2000-12-27) 27 December 2000 (age 21) | 3 | 0 | ![]() | |||
4FW | Hilmir Rafn Mikaelsson | (2004-02-02) 2 February 2004 (age 18) | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
The following players are still eligible for and have previously been called up to the under-21 squad.
Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up | ||
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DF | Valgeir Valgeirsson | (2002-09-22) 22 September 2002 (age 20) | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | ||
DF | Ólafur Guðmundsson | (2002-03-18) 18 March 2002 (age 20) | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | ||
MF | Kristall Máni Ingason | (2002-01-18) 18 January 2002 (age 20) | 9 | 4 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | ||
MF | Logi Hrafn Róbertsson | (2004-07-22) 22 July 2004 (age 18) | 3 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | ||
MF | Hákon Arnar Haraldsson | (2003-04-10) 10 April 2003 (age 19) | 5 | 2 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | ||
MF | Mikael Egill Ellertsson | (2002-03-11) 11 March 2002 (age 20) | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | ||
MF | Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson | (2003-03-23) 23 March 2003 (age 19) | 6 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | ||
FW | Danijel Djuric | (2003-01-05) 5 January 2003 (age 19) | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
As of 27 September 2022, the 10 players with the most U-21 caps for Iceland are:[9]
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 | Brynjólfur Andersen Willumsson | 2019–2022 | 25 | 5 |
6 | Jón Dagur Þorsteinsson | 2017–2021 | 23 | 5 |
7 | Orri Sigurður Ómarsson | 2013–2016 | 21 | 0 |
Alex Þór Hauksson | 2017–2021 | 21 | 1 | |
9 | Ari Leifsson | 2017–2021 | 20 | 1 |
10 | 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 | |
Kolbeinn Þórðarson | 2019–2022 | 19 | 1 | |
In bold players still playing or available for selection.
As of 27 September 2022, the 10 players with the most U-21 goals for Iceland are:
Rank | Name | Career | Goals | Caps | GPG |
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1 | Emil Atlason | 2012–2014 | 8 | 12 | 0.67 |
2 | Hannes Sigurðsson | 2002–2005 | 7 | 14 | 0.5 |
Sveinn Aron Guðjohnsen | 2018–2021 | 7 | 17 | 0.41 | |
4 | Kristian Hlynsson | 2021– | 6 | 10 | 0.6 |
Gylfi Sigurðsson | 2007–2011 | 6 | 14 | 0.43 | |
Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson | 2008–2011 | 6 | 14 | 0.43 | |
Albert Guðmundsson | 2015–2018 | 6 | 15 | 0.4 | |
Rúrik Gíslason | 2005–2011 | 6 | 19 | 0.32 | |
Bjarni Viðarsson | 2005–2011 | 6 | 26 | 0.23 | |
10 | Eyjólfur Sverrisson | 1988–1989 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
Hólmbert Friðjónsson | 2012–2014 | 5 | 10 | 0.5 | |
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 | |
Brynjólfur Andersen Willumsson | 2019–2022 | 5 | 25 | 0.2 |
In bold players still playing or available for selection.
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Football Association of Iceland | |||||
National teams |
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League system |
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Domestic cups |
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