EURO 2016 TEAM GUIDE: HISTORY-MAKERS ICELAND OUT TO SHOCK THE CONTINENT

Lars Lagerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson’s charges are preparing for their first ever major tournament and are looking to challenge Portugal in Group F this summer

Coach: Lars Lagerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson

Key player: Gylfi Sigurdsson

Qualifying form: W6, L2, D2

Top scorers in qualifying: Gylfi Sigurdsson (6), Kolbeinn Sigthorsson (3), Aron Gunnarsson, Birkir Bjarnason (both 2)

A nation of just over 300,000 people, many will feel Iceland have already won by simply qualifying for Euro 2016, but they are not a team to be underestimated.

A stunning qualification campaign saw Iceland shock the continent to reach a major tournament for the first time.

Czech Republic edged out Lars Lagerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson’s men for top spot in Group A, but the underdogs still finished above Turkey and European heavyweights Netherlands, who crashed out despite the competition’s expansion to 24 places.

Iceland beat Netherlands home and away without conceding a goal and won six of their first seven qualifiers to book their ticket to France.

Two of the country’s biggest names are Swansea City playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson and Nantes striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson, who has scored at a rate of nearly a goal every two games at international level.

The two players combined to score over half of Iceland’s 17 goals in qualifying (nine), while Alfred Finnbogason, who spent 2016 on loan at Augsburg in the Bundesliga, will hope to play a bigger role having only started once in qualifying, with Jon Dadi Bodvarsson – of Kaiserslautern in the German second tier – currently ahead of him in the pecking order.

At 37, former Barcelona and Chelsea forward Eidur Gudjohnsen – the country’s all-time leading scorer – is their other attacking option.

Sigurdsson provides Iceland with true star quality and comes into the campaign on the back of a fine season with Swansea City. The former Tottenham man netted 11 goals in the Premier League, nine of which came in 2016.

As well as Sigurdsson and Sigthorsson, Basel midfielder Birkir Bjarnason is a key player, who started all 10 of the nation’s matches in qualifying.

But it is Iceland’s defensive unit that, despite being short of star names, holds the unsung heroes of the line-up. They only conceded six goals in qualifying, and goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson – who played nine of those matches – along with ever-present defenders Kari Arnason and Ragnar Sigurdsson will know they have to continue their fine form to allow the more creative members of the squad to flourish further up the pitch.

The tournament draw certainly gives Iceland the chance to make further history by reaching the knockout stages. While Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal will be heavily favoured to finish top of Group F, Iceland will not be daunted by their other opponents, who are also short of tournament experience.

Austria have qualified for the Euros by right for the first time – they were co-hosts in 2008 – and Hungary are playing at the tournament following a 44-year absence.

With an achievable place in the last-16 up for grabs, Iceland will not just be there to make up the numbers.