International Football
FIFA’S TIMELY WARNING TO SUPER EAGLES: FIVE REASONS ICELAND CAN SHOCK THE WORLD
World football governing body and owners of the World Cup competition has warned the global audience to watch out for the mystery team called Iceland when the World Cup kicks off in June next year.
Iceland, one of the two debutants and the smallest county ever to qualify for the World Cup, will feature in Group D where the Super Eagles will be attempting to cross to the next round.
Iceland will be Nigeria’s second opponents after that of Croatia before facing Argentina.
FIFA in its website gave five reasons why Iceland can shock the world. It remarked that there is an undeniable novelty factor to the small country’s participation at Russia 2018.
“Even their manager, Heimir Hallgrimsson, acknowledged as much after their spot at the FIFA World Cup – and place in history as the smallest nation ever to qualify – was secured. “This is really odd,” he said. “I mean, Pele, Maradona… Aron Einar Gunnarsson.”
FIFA warned that no one should be fooled by this light-hearted suggestion that Iceland, and their bearded captain, might seem out of place among the game’s greats on the global stage.
“For all the focus on their record-breaking population, they were also the smallest country ever to qualify for the UEFA European Championship – and everyone knows how that tale unfolded.
‘Indeed, while Iceland’s World Cup hopes haven’t been aided by a tough draw that has pitted them against Argentina, Croatia and Nigeria, there is plenty of cause for optimism. And if Lionel Messi, Luka Modric and Co need any reminding, FIFA.com has five reasons why the Nordic newcomers are a team worth fearing”.
According to FIFA the Icelanders are serial giant-killers. “‘The bigger they are, the harder they fall’ seems to be the motto of a team that, over the past couple of years, has beaten the likes of Croatia, the Netherlands, Turkey, Ukraine, Greece and, most famously of all, England.
“As midfielder Olafur Skulason said: “I could see the newspapers in other countries talking about how unlucky we are to get that kind of group – but that is exactly what we want. We want those big games. We want to play against Argentina. What an amazing team to play against in the first game ever for Iceland in the World Cup!”
FIFA also remarked that Iceland can better their EURO heroics. It will be recalled that Iceland stunned the football world by qualifying from their group at UEFA EURO 2016, then knocking out England in the last 16.
But despite their outstanding results, which also included a win over Austria and a draw with eventual champions Portugal, the players insisted that performance levels were below par. “I strongly believe we’re better than we showed in most of those games,” veteran defender Kari Arnason told FIFA.com.
“There were nerves at the EURO but we’re normally better in keeping the ball, working openings.” This was borne out in qualifying, when Iceland impressed en route to topping a group featuring Croatia, Turkey and Ukraine. It also bodes well for Russia 2018. As Arnason said: “It’s nice to say that we did so well [at the EURO] and still have a lot of room to improve.”
FIFA also points out that Iceland have a star No. 10 of their own. Lionel Messi might be Group D’s headline act, but Iceland also have an influential and highly effective No10 in the shape of Gylfi Sigurdsson.
The midfielder is undoubtedly the ace in the debutants’ pack, with vision, shooting ability and set-piece expertise among his most notable attributes. As Sigurdsson’s former manager, Lars Lagerback, pointed out, he also epitomises Iceland’s team-centred approach.
“Together with Henrik Larsson, I would say that Gylfi is the best team player I’ve worked with,” Lagerback said of the man Everton paid £45 million for. “He always plays for the team and must be one of the best two-way midfield players out there.”
FIFA also hailed the Icelandic team spirit which it described as second-to-none.
Though their midfield playmaker stands out, Iceland’s strength lies not in star players, but in unity. Sigurdsson himself acknowledged this when asked about the secret behind their success.
“It has a lot to do with the team spirit that we have,” he said. “How we are as a group is unique.” The country’s modest population, and the consequently small pool of players to pick from, ensures that Hallgrimsson’s squad rarely changes, and is largely comprised of close friends who have come through the youth ranks together.
According to FIFA, the Icelandic players have a special bond with their supporters. In most countries, the idea of the national coach visiting fans in the pub ahead of matches would be unthinkable.
But according to FIFA, this is not so with Iceland, where Hallgrimsson has maintained these remarkable routine – briefing supporters on tactics, sharing motivational videos – throughout the last two qualifying campaigns.
“There’s a closeness there that makes us a little special,” he explained. “We have built a unique relationship with our fans and my visits to the bar have become a sweet Icelandic tradition.”
Another tradition, which became famous at the EURO – when almost ten per cent of Iceland’s population headed to France to cheer the team on -, is the ‘Thunderclap’.
The war cry-like chant drew inspiration from the film ‘300’ and made for an intimidating sight and sound. As one Portuguese journalist wrote at the EURO: “Don’t cross Iceland – their Viking chant is terrifying!”
Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
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A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
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Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
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