Welsh heroics can help us to beat France, says Iceland skipper

Iceland captain Aron Gunnarsson said his side can draw inspiration from Wales for their clash on Sunday against France at the Stade de France. Most of the 80,000 capacity crowd will be cheering for the hosts in the quarter-final.

Iceland captain Aron Gunnarsson says his side will try to emulate Wales and advance to the last four by beating a supposedly superior side. Reuters/Uefa

But following Wales’s shock 3-1 defeat of Belgium in Lille on Friday in the quarter-final, Gunnarsson says his team mates can emulate Chris Coleman’s players.

"Everyone knew before the tournament that Wales weren't favourites to go to the semi-finals and we weren’t favourites to get to the quarters,” said Gunnarsson.

"It's a joy to watch and I think Wales are a force to be reckoned with. They've got a good squad, good players and a tough togetherness.

"I think they're showing a great desire and attitude to win matches and it's something that we can definitely learn from. I think we are quite similar to them in that sense."

Wales are appearing in their first major football tournament since the 1958 World Cup. Back then Wales lost in the quarter-finals to the eventual winners Brazil.

The 2016 vintage have eclipsed their predecessors by reaching the last four in France. Iceland have never been to the World Cup nor the European Championships.

They emerged from Group F with five points following draws with Portugal and Hungary and a last gasp victory over Austria. In the last 16, they conceded a goal within four minutes but battled back to beat England 2-1. Roy Hodgson resigned as England coach following the defeat.

Gunnarrson fought for midfield supremacy that night in Nice with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Dele Alli and Eric Dier.

On Sunday, the Cardiff City player will have to test himself against the force that is Paul Pogba. "It's always best and most fun to play against the best," said Gunnarrsson. "And Pogba is clearly one of the best. He's one of those players who is really superb. It's going to be a hard fight and I'm ready to battle against anyone."

Iceland's joint-coach, Heimir Hallgrimsson, has slapped down suggestions that his team play a simple brand of football. He says they are merely playing to their strengths.
Iceland were accused of having a "small mentality" by Cristiano Ronaldo following a 1-1 draw in their opening group match. The players retorted that Ronaldo was a great footballer but not a very nice human being.

Hallgrimsson said any criticism of his side's approach was unfair. "We play simple if you say that we play to our strengths. We know what we're good at, what our strengths are and we play the way that suits us," he said. "That's what I call playing simply, to play to our strengths. If someone thinks that's boring or not good enough, that's their opinion.

"We know what we stand for, we know what we can do and we just play that way. The team is coherent and we play well together. We can beat good nations, we're not making things too complicated."

France coach Didier Deschamps said he had warned his players to be at their peak. "Iceland are in the last eight because they deserve to be and they have quality in their side," said the former France skipper. "They haven't stolen anything from anyone. The players in their team play in the top leagues, they're not simply small-time players if you will. They've achieved great things before and they deserved to beat England based on what they produced on the pitch."

Estimates vary as to how many Icelandic fans have travelled to France for the quarter-final. orters. "To get all these people supporting us, it's just been unbelievable,” said Gunnarsson. “They've spent a lot of money to come here and support us and we really appreciate that. We will be fighting for all Icelanders."