Italy's roster is out. I can see why they want an additional match to fit everyone in! A massive 33 players, including both all of the regular veterans and a lot of youngsters, 4 of them at their first call in Senior NT! Some of them, I would be very interested to see on the international stage.
Tomorrow Iceland will play Italy in a friendly and again next Tuesday (the first match will be shown on KSÍ youtube channel). Here are a few points I want to discuss. Iceland will be playing without their captain Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir (Lyon) and their top goalscorer Dagný Brynjarsdóttir (West Ham). Brynjarsdóttir was tested positive for covid early this week and then negative. None the less she will have to stay in quarantine for the next ten days or so. I must admit I am feeling a little bit anxious ahead these two matches. Iceland former coach was maybe controversial and unpopular among some of his players, but in my opinion he had found the perfect starting lineup against Sweden in the last qualifiers. Now we have a new coach Þorsteinn Halldórsson who had a winning strategy with Breiðablik last season and might therefore favor some of his former players in hope of reprising his winning streak with Breiðablik this year. Here below are the biggest question marks ahead of match. In goal: Sandra Sigurðardóttir (Valur) or Cecilía Rán Rúnarsdóttir (Örebro) Will Halldórsson stay with the experienced Sigurðardóttur, aged 35, or will he favor the 17 year old Rúnarsdóttir? Sigurðardóttir for many years was goalkeeper nr. 2 behind Þóra Helgadóttir and Guðbjörg Gunnarsdóttir. In the last two years she finally has had the chance to be goalkeeper number 1 but she conceded only four goals in the last qualifiers. Rúnarsdóttir on the other hand is the future goalkeeper of Iceland. Both goalkeepers are very tall and good with the ball at their feet. I would though say that Rúnarsdóttir is the more agile of the two and dominates inside the penalty box whereas Sigurðardóttir sometimes seems shaky when the ball drops into the penalty box. In defense Anna Björk Kristjánsdóttir (Le Havre) or Guðný Árnadóttir (Napoli) With Ingibjörg Sigurðardóttir out, these two players will probably fight for her position. Kristjánsdóttir has the experience (32 years old) whereas Árnadóttir (21) has the pace (she is really fast). My money will be on Árnadóttir. Árnadóttir is also a terrific passer of the ball. In midfield Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir (Orlando Pride) or Andrea Rán Hauksdóttir (Le Havre) With Gunnarsdóttir and Brynjarsdóttir out a huge gap has to be filled in the midfield. Jónsdóttir (32 years old) usually plays as a midfielder but has in the last two years been used as a right back. Hauksdóttir (25) is more of a holding midfielder and was coached by Halldórsson with Breiðablik for five years. Hauksdóttir has only 10 caps for Iceland which is to be expected as she holds the same position as the captain who rarely misses a game. Jónsdóttir on the other hand has more experience and her work rate is unmatched. Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir (19) will fill up the position left by Brynjarsdóttir. In the attack Elín Metta Jensen (Valur) or Berglind Þorvaldsdóttir (Le Havre) If I had to choose, I would always go for Jensen (26). She, in my opinion, is more versatile than Þorvaldsdóttir (you can play her as a #9, #10 or #7), more technically gifted, faster and has a higher work rate (Þorvaldsdóttir has though improved a lot in the last category). Many though have called for Þorvaldsdóttir (28) to start more as she has been more consistent goalscorer in the Icelandic league (and elsewhere) than Jensen and is a true #9. Jensen likes to drop deep to receive the ball whereas Þorvaldsdóttir wants to stay more inside the penalty box. Þorvaldsdóttir is also a much better header of the ball. Another thing that works in Þorvaldsdóttir favor is that she has had Halldórsson as her coach for the last five years whereas Jensen has never played under him (one of few players). Jensen though has better stats for Iceland, 56 caps and 16 goals (35 as a starter and 16 goals) whereas Þorvaldsdóttir has 48 caps and 6 goals (17 as a starter and 4 goals). Þorvaldsdóttir fans can though point out that she has scored two goals in the last two matches for Iceland whereas Jensen scored none but in those matches Þorvaldsdóttir played as a #9 and Jensen as a #10. We will have to see what Halldórsson does tomorrow.
Last news are that Italy will miss three Sassuolo's players (Filangeri, Lenzini and Orsi) who are quarantining because of a covid case in their team; these were anyway debutants or near-debutants. So the only "big" missing player, compared to the list that I had previously posted, is Barbara Bonansea, who was anyway in doubt since the beginning because of an injury she had picked up about a month ago vs Roma, that re-surfaced soon after in the match vs Milan. Bertolini didn't replace all of these players, but she anyway called two DFs from Roma, Tecla Pettenuzzo and Angelica Soffia. Everything else should be consistent with the roster that I had posted here. You say that tomorrow match will be aired in Iceland? Here in Italy I guess TV will broadcast the 13th's one only.
According to some news I've read today on Italian websites, one of the things making today's match a "training one" is the fact that there should be no referee.
Iceland starting lineup first match Byrjunarliðið gegn Ítalíu!Leikurinn hefst kl. 14:00 og verður hann í beinu streymi á Youtube síðu KSÍ.Our starting lineup against Italy!https://t.co/mw4jPeO1My#LeiðinTilEnglands #dottir pic.twitter.com/W3p2yhzFzy— Knattspyrnusambandið (@footballiceland) April 10, 2021
That eh... doesn't make much sense to me. Also reading interviews with the Iceland coach, it seems he has little idea about what thought is behind these two games from the Italian side. I must admit I am little puzzled.
I don't know what to say: I had read this article. Maybe they did mean "without a FIFA officially-sanctioned referee"?
The match ended 1-0 for Italy, with a goal by young (21 yo) Juventus' Midfielder Arianna Caruso. I am curious to know if Iceland had deployed something close to the usual line-up, or if they were more similar to this afternoon's Italy, that was what I could aptly describe as a B-Team, full of youngsters and debutants. Out of the starters of today, only three (CBs Linari and Salvai and MF Galli) were "veterans" with dozens of caps with the Senior Team. For the rest, there were two debutants (although I guess this wasn't an "official" FIFA-sanctioned match, so I am not sure it will be counted as their first cap), three one-capped players and three others with less than 10 caps. There were six substituions for Italy during the game and the players that were subbed-in were four debutants, a one-capped player and a three-capped player. I guess we're going to see a completely different line-up on Tuesday, probably with the usual starters for both Italy and Iceland.
I would say, Halldórsson is rotating his team, some where regular starters, others not. He started with 17 year old Rúnarsdóttir in goal and two players earned their first cap with the national team. He will probably keep rotating the team in the next match as well. Halldórsson said in an interview that every player in the roster will get a chance to play.
The "official" friendly match is going to start. It is available in streaming on Rai Sport, but I am almost sure it will be geo-blocked outside of Italy (and anyway I am going to simply watch the match on TV, RAI Sport 2 channel). The line-up should be a 4-3-3 with all of the "stars" of the team as starters (of course except injured Guagni and Bonansea), so, from left to right: Giuliani Bergamaschi - Gama - Salvai - Bartoli Rosucci - Giugliano - Cernoia Serturini - Girelli - Giacinti (Young Serturini, who's impressing in the league with Roma AC, gets the nod over injured Bonansea ).
The match was shown on channel 2 in Iceland, I will have to watch the replay. Nothing that surprised me with the starting lineup. Þorvaldsdóttir started in the #9 position which could mean that Halldórsson sees her as his first choice as a striker instead of Jensen. I very much disagree with him there. Kristjánsdóttir started in central defense rather then Árnadóttir who I also hoped to see in the starting lineup but her time will come. I was though happy to see Halldórsdóttir start as a right back. At 18 years old, she is very promising. I'll take 1-1. We were without three key players, Gunnarsdóttir, Brynjarsdóttir and Sigurðardóttir and so this could be considered a good result.
As coach Bertolini rightfully noticed in the post-game interview, maybe scoring after just 50 seconds made Italian players wrongly believe that it was going to be an "easy" game.
Our (Iceland) captain has been out for the last couple of weeks and now we know the reason why. The future is looking bright indeed Well this year turned out to be á little bit different then we thought !Turns out we are going to be three in November 😍👶🏻🙅🏻♀️🤰🏻Jæja lítur út fyrir að við verðum 3 í Nóvember 😍 Það sem við hlökkum til 😍🥰👶🏻 pic.twitter.com/KjJXcWwFTQ— Sara Björk (@sarabjork18) April 21, 2021
The Úrvalsdeild kvenna will start on the 5th of may. Here is a video made for the league shot by Hannes Halldórsson, yes the same goalkeeper who saved Lionel Messi's penalty in the last world cup. Featured amongst others are Elín Metta Jensen (Valur), Dóra María Lárusdóttir (Valur), Anna María Baldursdóttir (Stjarnan), Alma Mathiesen (Stjarnan), Agla María Albertsdóttir (Breiðablik) and Natasha Moora Anasi (Keflavík) https://www.visir.is/k/46da690d-d5c9-4b35-8b3f-483ed9a20fe0-1619293002101?jwsource=cl
The Úrvalsdeild will start next Wednesday. Here is my prediction. 10th place Tindastóll Very much a cindarella story, Tindastóll is from the small town of Sauðakrókur in the north of Iceland. A fun team to watch last season in the Lengjudeild (Iceland second tier league), scoring lots of goal. I am afraid though that they will not stand much of a chance of surviving the summer. The team has not made many new signing, relying on mostly local players instead. Star player: Murielle Tiernan. By far the best player in the team. Top clubs in Iceland have all wanted to sign her but she has stayed loyal to Tindastóll. Last year she scored 25 goals in 17 matches and was the top scorer in the Lengjudeild. 27 years of age, she will be a player to watch this summer. Other players to watch. Jacqueline Altschuld and Aldís María Jóhannsdóttir 9th place Keflavík Keflavík was relegated from the Úrvalsdeild in 2019. Many felt the team was to good to be relegated at the time, especially considering the young talent in the team. This time Keflavík will be without their star player Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir (who was on loan last year, playing for Breiðablik) who has moved to Sweden. The league will be very even this year and Keflavík could very possibly end up much higher up the table. Star player: Natasha Moora Anasi The captain and leader of the team. Will probably play mostly in the defense this year but if the team is in need of goals, they will most definitely move her higher up the pitch. Other players to watch: Dröfn Einarsdóttir and Amelía Rún Fjeldsted 8th place ÍBV Is always a question mark at the start of every season. ÍBV as so often before has lost many players and filled their positions with mostly foreign players. Some of them good, some not so good. The team has seen the return of 19 year old Clara Sigurðardóttir who is going to be very important player for ÍBV the this summer. Star player: Olga Sevcova The Latvian international played very well last season and will hope to build on last years achievements. Other players to watch: Clara Sigurðardóttir and Delaney Bae Pridham 7th place Þróttur Were the surprise team of last year but has lost some of their best players since then. Nonetheless coach Nic Chamberlain is known for bringing in good talent and this year seems no different. Will it pay off like last year, we will have too see. Star player: Katie Cousins A lot is expected from this 25 year old american midfielder and former youth international. I am very much looking forward to see her play in this league. Hopefully for Þróttur she will rise up to the occasion. Other players to watch: Andrea Rut Bjarnadóttir and Linda Líf Boama 6th place Stjarnan Only a few years ago Stjarnan was a dominant team in the league. Now Stjarnan is building up for the future with many players born in 2003 and 2004. With some added experience, Stjarnan may cause some upsets this year. Star player: Betsy Hassett The New Zealand international is one of the most experienced players in the team and a role model for her young team mates. Her experience is going to be crucial for the team if they hope to get some good results. Other players to watch: Aníta Ýr Þorvaldsdóttir and Hildigunnur Ýr Benediktsdóttir 5th place Selfoss From a dairy town of the same name, Selfoss had high expectations last year but fell short. Since the they have lost their star player Dagný Brynjarsdóttir to West Ham and the experienced defender Anna Björk Kristjánsdóttir to Le Havre in France. Selfoss will also be without forward Tiffany McCarty who has left for Breiðablik. 37 year old Hólmfríður Magnúsdóttir retired earlier in the year but anounced last week that she has changed her mind. This could proof crucial for the team. The coach is optimistic as ever but I am not. Star player: Barbára Sól Gísladóttir The 20 year old earned her first caps for Iceland last year and is very important for the team both offensively and in defense. She will most likely leave the club by the end of the season if she stays fit. Other players to watch: Magdalena Anna Reimus and Eva Núra Abrahamsdóttir 4th place Þór/KA Just like Stjarnan Þór/KA is building up a new team with many player born in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. The Akureyri team has been consisted when it comes to producing young new talent and somehow always gets the most out of them. This year will be no different. Star player: Arna Sif Ásgrímsdóttir The most experienced player in the team. This 29 year has spent the last couple of months on loan with Glasgow City where she has been given the captains armband. The best header of the ball in the entire league. Other players to watch: María Catharina Ólafsdóttir and Karen María Sigurgeirsdóttir 3rd place Fylkir Has collected many promising players in the last couple of years and has a good shape to the whole team. The only team in the league that can upset Breiðablik and Valur. Has lost two of their best players from last year, Berglind Rós Ágústsdóttir and Cecilía Rán Rúnarsdóttir to Örebro in Sweden. Star player: Bryndís Arna Níelsdóttir The 18 year old scored 10 goals last season and is a target center in the purest sense of the word, a rare sight these days in Iceland. Other players to watch: Þórdís Elva Ágústsdóttir and Katla María Þórðardóttir 2nd place Breiðablik The most dominant team in Iceland last year, Breiðablik has been hemorrhaging players prior to this season. Berglind Björg Þorvaldsdóttir left for Le Havre, Karólína lea Vilhálmsdóttir moved to Bayern, Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir to Wolfsburg and Alexandra Jóhannsdóttir to Frankfurt. Still there is a plenty of talent left and the team has also acquired some useful players as well. They will hope to defend their title. Star player: This will be between Agla María Albertsdóttir and Áslaug Munda Gunnlaugsdóttir. Agla was the top goalscorer last year along with Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir. She not only scores goals but also provides her teammates with bunch of assists. Áslaug is the most promising young player currently in the league and it is only a matter of time when she will become a regular starter in the Icelandic national team, playing as a left back. Other players to watch: Kristínd Dís Árnadóttir and Hafrún Rakel Halldórsdóttir 1st place Valur Even though Valur lost three important players from last year, Hlín Eiríksdóttir to Pitea, Guðný Árnadóttir to AC Milan, Hallbera Gísladóttir to AIK and Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir to Orlando Pride, most pundits in Iceland expect them to win this year and regain their title from 2019. Valur has made some good signings, the biggest name being Mary Alice Vignola who played for Þróttur last year and is along with Áslaug Munda the best left back in the league. A good mixture of young and experienced players, this season should be theirs to win. Star player: With Berglind Björg Þorvaldsdóttir and Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir gone, Elín Metta Jensen is by far the best striker in the league if not the best player overall. A lot of pressure is on her to deliver this year, hopefully she will. Other players to watch: Mary Alice Vignola and Dóra María Lárusdóttir
This time you didn't slow it down, did you? What are your opinions about WWC 2023 qualifiers draw, for what concerns Iceland?
I am very worried. Even though we have a very promising team, this was a very though draw. I was hoping we would not been drawn with the Czech Republic as they just fell short of qualifying for the Euros. Add to that the fact that our captain Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir is pregnant and therefore will not be available next fall. Then last friday Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir, our most promising talent, sustained a horrible knee Injury and at the look of things will be out for quite awhile. Jónsdóttir had started brightly in the damallsvenska scoring two goals and providing one assist before that injury. Career ending stuff really A video of the incident: https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbla...angen-sveindis-jane-jonsdottir-utburen-pa-bar
Oh my, these are very bad news! I watched the video and it looks like her knee completely turned by 90 degree. I had recently watched Jónsdóttir play in the friendly match vs Italy and I had been impressed: physical, fast, technically and tactically aware, she looked like a future star. She's very young, isn't she? I hope when you talk about "career ending" it's just pessimism: at that age, you can come back strong even from something so serious (I am aware there were a few notable exceptions in the women's football, but I wish Jónsdóttir the best). I was aware that the draw hadn't been kind to Iceland, giving to them a very strong pot 1 team and the strongest possible team from pot 3, but now that you point out at the long-term missing key-players I can understand your worries: it will be very difficult for Iceland to qualify.