WILL the minnows of Iceland reach the Last 16? Willie Duncan (@Willie_Duncan) previews their match with Austria for us.
Iceland v Austria | Wednesday 17:00 | BBC
Bjork, Magnus Magnusson, Kerry Katona – three names that you automatically associate with Iceland (I’m sorry – I’ll get my coat) – but new legends could be created when the smallest country competing at Euro 2016 take to the field against Austria on Wednesday evening.
Two draws from their first two matches mean that Iceland have yet to be beaten at a major tournament – but they still haven’t won a match either and they will have to take all three points from their match against Marcel Koller’s side if they are to continue their progression in this summer’s showpiece.
Austria arrived at Euro 2016 as potential dark horses, but they looked like contenders for nothing more than a donkey derby after slumping to a dreadful 2-0 defeat against Hungary in their opening fixture at France.
Koller’s charges were a bit better against Portugal, but they offered very little in attack on Saturday evening and they certainly have not been anywhere near as impressive as their qualification record suggested that they could and would be.
Iceland will not be short of confidence, for they have avoided defeat in each of their last five fixtures and you cannot help but be impressed by the fighting spirit that has been shown so far by Lars Lagerback and Heimer Hallgrimsson’s side.
Quite simply, Iceland will not be a pushover and I’m not sure that Austria have enough in the tank to turn them over on Wednesday night, for they have won just one of their last five matches and a 2-1 win against Malta is barely enough to get excited about.
Iceland, it must be remembered, beat Netherlands both at home and away on their way to Euro 2016 and they will certainly not be daunted at the prospect of taking on Marcel Koller’s underperforming team.
The juicy 4/5 quote on offer for Iceland (+1) is outstanding value and the minnows should be snapped up to spring yet another surprise on Wednesday evening.
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Iceland v Austria – Iceland +1 (4/5 Netbet)
