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  Euro 2016: Icelanders turn guns on hosts

Euro 2016: Icelanders turn guns on hosts

AFP
Published : Jun 29, 2016, 11:24 pm IST
Updated : Jun 29, 2016, 11:24 pm IST

England-slayers Iceland hope to harness their underdog status to put the psychological pressure on Euro 2016 hosts France in Sunday’s quarter-final.

Heimir Hallgrimsson
 Heimir Hallgrimsson

England-slayers Iceland hope to harness their underdog status to put the psychological pressure on Euro 2016 hosts France in Sunday’s quarter-final.

“The pressure was always so much more on England — that was a game for them to lose,” said Heimir Hallgrimsson, who combines his role as co-coach alongside Lars Lagerback with his job as a dentist.

“It’s exactly the same against France,” he added.

After pulling off one of the biggest shocks in football with their 2-1 win over England, Iceland’s fairytale takes them next to a sold-out Stade de France.

Hallgrimsson hopes the pressure on Didier Deschamps’ France to beat unfancied Iceland will play into his hands again.

“When you can go into a game like that, you just need to show what you can do, relax and enjoy doing your best. We don’t have the pressure of the world (on us) that we need to win the game,” he said.

“The world won’t go crazy if we don’t beat France, which of course we want to do, so that’s a big benefit to us,” he said.

Iceland’s co-coaches are in a relaxed frame of mind. There was plenty of laughing in Wednesday’s press conference, which opened with Hallgrimsson jokingly asking a Swedish reporter about Iceland’s chances against France.

Having seen unfancied Leicester City win last season’s English League title, Hallgrimsson says the Iceland squad also benefit from playing without the pressure of expectations. “I really would like things to end like they did with Leicester City, if you want to talk about them,” he said.

“They played to their strengths and that is what we are trying to do. There is the same sort of team spirt. Maybe the players have less individual quality,” he said.