Tiny Iceland advances at Euro 2016, next plays England

Iceland captain Aron Gunnarsson credited his team’s “Viking spirit” for hauling it into the last 16 of UEFA EURO 2016 with a last-gasp 2-1 win over Austria in Saint-Denis.

“They probably haven’t played their best game yet in the tournament and they want to show and prove to everybody that they have a good team”, he said.

Delivering the feel-good story of the European Championship, the smallest nation ever to compete at the tournament beat Austria 2-1 on Wednesday at St. Etienne, France, to advance from Group F.

Hungary took the lead for a third time on 55 minutes with the third goal in nine frenetic minutes of play at the start of the second half, as Dzsudzsak saw an effort flick off Nani and past Patricio.

Marcel Koller’s side not only failed to get the win they required but suffered a late defeat, with substitute Traustason finishing a stoppage-time break.

He continued: “I think everybody who was watching the game realised how much it meant to us”.

England will play Iceland after finishing second in Group B, after beating Wales but drawing against Russian Federation and Slovakia.

Dragovic stepped up but the centre-back fired the spot-kick against the outside of the post as Iceland breathed a huge sigh of relief.

In case you need to know, the translation of Benediktsson – who calls himself Gummi Ben – goes something like: “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, we are winning this”.

“I have always supported England in the big global tournaments when we haven’t been playing”, said the 33-year-old former Plymouth Argyle and Rotherham United midfielder. That’s like a team made up entirely of players from Springfield, Illinois, qualifying for the second-most prestigious soccer tournament in the world.

Jordan Allen broke a tie in the 87th minute and Real Salt Lake beat NY 2-1 to end the Red Bulls’ four-game MLS winning streak. We are through to the final 16!

The Icelanders finished on five points in Group F behind Hungary on goal difference to set up an encounter with Roy Hodgson’s team in Nice on Monday. This is, after the World Cup, the biggest global tournament in soccer.