UEFA European Championships 2016 Preview: Iceland

Gylfi Thor Sigurdsson (left) will lead Iceland into the 2016 European Championships in France. Getty

Gylfi Thor Sigurdsson (left) will lead Iceland into the 2016 European Championships in France. (Getty)

Iceland fought to a 6-2-2 record to finish second in Group A and earn a berth in the 2016 European Championship in France. A 3-0 win over Turkey and 2-0 win over Netherlands at home were enough to finish behind the Czech Republic in the group to clinch a group stage entry. Gylfi Sigurdsson scored six times for Iceland to lead the team to the European Championship.

This is the first European Championship berth for Iceland and continues to show that they are trying to make their name known on the world’s soccer stage. Iceland has never made a World Cup either, but did barely miss the 2014 tournament, falling to Croatia in the playoff for the final tournament. Before this year’s tournament, Iceland’s best qualification record for the European Championship was a third place finish in their group in 2004.