Åge Hareide has not had a good start to his career in Iceland. Tonight, Luxembourg were on the other side of the pitch.
Before the match, the Icelanders were in fifth place in the group, seven points behind second-placed Slovakia.
Iceland started the match well. After 23 minutes, Uri Oscarsson scored to make it 1-0.
The hosts continued their production and entered the break ahead. But after the break it suddenly crashed. Gerson Rodriguez remained on the field for 52 seconds before scoring the equalizing goal from a distance of 20 meters.
In the 69th minute, Gylfi Sigurdsson made his first international appearance in three years. The Icelander was arrested in 2021 on suspicion of committing sexual crimes against minors. In April, it became known that he would not be tried.
– He ended up in a terrible situation. I hope he puts on his boots again, every club will need a player with his skills, Oji Hareide told Dagbladet in April.
Iceland pressed and pressed and with five minutes left they were very close to a decision. A cross was hit at the back towards John Dagur Thorsteinsson who hit the post.
A desperate Iceland side sent the entire team out for a set piece, and the Luxembourg striker had an adventurous chance to make it 2-1. In an open box of 20 meters he made a mistake.
Norwegian fans had to hope that Iceland would win over Luxembourg, and that through qualification they would be able to bypass Slovakia and go directly to the European Nations Cup. This, in turn, will have an impact on Norway’s chances in a potential UEFA Nations League play-off.
Solbakken & Company. We must hope that 17 of the 23 teams ahead of Norway in the UEFA Nations League standings qualify directly for the European Championship.
But the good news is Portugal’s victory over Slovakia 3-2. Thanks to two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese are ready for the tournament in Germany next summer.
“Infuriatingly humble internet trailblazer. Twitter buff. Beer nerd. Bacon scholar. Coffee practitioner.”
