JAIPUR: Almost every Icelandic citizen wants a ticket to
Nice
. That's how berserk the tiny group of North Atlantic islanders have gone following their team's historic qualification to the round of 16 of the
European Championships
.
"Our people have gone mad. Almost everyone here wants to be on the plane that goes to Nice,"
Omar Smarason
, marketing and media manager of the
Iceland Football Federation
(KSI) told TOI on Thursday.
"This is an historic day for us. In every way, not only football," he added.
Iceland play England in Nice on Monday.
Surely this is another of a few great stories this year. And it's only fitting that the goal call that earned them a place in the knockout round brought out the kind of emotion only sport can.
As
Arnor Ingvi Traustason
scored the winning goal in Iceland's 2-1 win over
Austria
, the Icelandic commentator lost his mind describing the moment.
In what will go down along with other most emotionally-charged moments in football, Traustason slid as he connected and for a moment appeared unsure if he had actually scored or hit the side-netting. When the 23-year-old looked again and realised he had scored, up he rose to his feet and what followed was bedlam at the Stade de France.
All of Iceland's staff rushed on to the field to mob Traustason and amid the hysteria, referee Szymon Marciniak could have been forgiven for not blowing the final whistle. It was just not needed!
Traustason was the toast of the hour and his story has a touch of fantasy too. Not part of any of Iceland's qualifiers, the midfielder had entered here only 10 minutes from time to hand his nation a moment to savour.
Ranked 133 in the world four years ago, the national team have risen 100 places under
Lars Lagerback
. From pastime to becoming an institutional obsession, seeded from the top down through the government, the FA and schools and individuals in the last decade or so, football in
Iceland
is part of their identity now like tourism, fishing and of late Game of Thrones!
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