Gudmundsson targets knockout stages

05/05/2016

Iceland winger Johann Berg Gudmundsson believes his side have a realistic chance of qualifying for the knockout stages of Euro 2016 this summer.

The Nordic island country will be participating at their first major finals in France, after they qualified for the tournament from a group that also contained the Czech Republic, Turkey and the Netherlands.

Lars Lagerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson jointly manage the side and they have been handed a favourable draw for the finals, as they will take on Portugal, Austria and Hungary in Group F.

The draw has certainly filled Charlton player Gudmundsson with optimism heading into the tournament, as he is confident the outsiders can progress through to the last 16 of the competition.

He said: “Getting out of the group is realistic for us. There’s six groups and in four of them three go through, so that’s a big chance for us. I think we will be able to get through and that will be our aim.”

Iceland will need to improve on their recent form if they are to make an impact at the finals, as they have only managed to win two of their last ten matches, a run that includes draws with Kazakhstan and Latvia, as well as a friendly defeat to the United Arab Emirates.

Iceland are available at 8.00 to finish top of their group at the finals, while they are available at 2.00 to achieve Gudmundsson’s target of qualifying for the knockout stages.