Gylfi Sigurdsson says there is no pressure on Iceland at Euro 2016
Monday 13 June 2016 11:06, UK
Gylfi Sigurdsson says there is no pressure on Iceland at Euro 2016 ahead of their first appearance at a major tournament.
The Icelanders come up against Portugal in their competition opener in St Etienne on Tuesday before games against Austria and Hungary in what is expected to be a competitive group.
However, Sigurdsson insists Iceland - the smallest country at the Euros with a population of just 330,000 - have over-achieved just by reaching France ahead of the Group F matches.
"We haven't really set ourselves any targets," the Swansea midfielder said. "We're in a tough group and the biggest achievement for us was to get there.
"But we were in a tough qualifying group with Holland, Turkey and the Czech Republic, and everyone was very surprised that we managed to get here.
"So we will enjoy it, hopefully get a good start to the Euros and do as well as possible."
Iceland's rise under Lars Lagerback since the Swede's appointment in October 2011 has been remarkable.
They finished that year 104th in the FIFA rankings, yet have spent the last three years inside the top 40 and just missed out on a place at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil after losing a play-off to Croatia.
"Qualifying brings a lot of money into the federation which will go down to the kids, the coaching and the facilities," said Sigurdsson. "So the impact is not just from a player's perspective.
"It gives kids growing up hope that even if you're from a very small country you can think that anything is possible."
Sigurdsson was Iceland's top scorer in qualifying with six goals and heads into the tournament on the back of excellent form at Swansea.
The 26-year-old scored nine times in the second half of the season and was named the club's player of the year after helping to steer them away from relegation danger.
"It was really good for me personally after Christmas," said Sigurdsson. "I scored some goals at an important time of the season and I was really happy to get into double figures.
"I didn't have much time to think about the Euros because of the situation we were in at Swansea in the Premier League. But it was always in the back of your mind because it's such a big thing for the country.
"It was great to be peaking in form just before the Euros, and now I want to take that into the tournament."
