Ben Fisher was at Laugardalsvöllur and his report is in. Here it is. Thanks for reading this MBM. Góða nótt and nos da.
Craig Bellamy speaks to S4C. “I enjoyed it … it was what I expected to be honest … I even said the second half, this is going to be really tough, knowing the manager of Iceland and the profile of their players … the solutions are there … it’s so good for us … we benefit so much … in the long run it will be really beneficial … of course we are really disappointed … it was momentum … understanding when to take the steam out of the game … overall I’m pleased.”
A slightly disappointed but philosophical Harry Wilson talks to S4C. “After the first half we expected a reaction … we spoke about it … we didn’t deal with it … us front guys have to do more … the balls into us need to be a bit better … but to take the positives from the first half, there were some very good moments … the two goals … we have to learn from the second half … we definitely expected a reaction … Montenegro did it to us last month and we weathered that storm and got the win … it was kind of similar tonight but they had a bit more quality … it showed at the end … I’m fuming with Brennan [Johnson] for nicking the first goal! … no, I’m only joking … like he showed in the last few weeks for Spurs, he’s in the right position to get those goals and deserved that … the second thankfully I was able to finish it myself!”
The other match in Group B4 has ended Turkey 1-0 Montenegro. İrfan Kahveci with the only goal. All of which means the group looks like this after three matches.
Turkey P3 W2 D1 L0 F4 A1 Pts 7
Wales P3 W1 D2 L0 F4 A3 Pts 5
Iceland P3 W1 D1 L1 F5 A5 Pts 4
Montenegro P3 W0 D0 L3 F1 A5 Pts 0
Wales host Montenegro on Monday evening, while Turkey travel to Iceland.
Yes, that was a game of two halves all right. Wales the better side in the first half; Iceland much the better side in the second. Once the pain of letting a two-goal lead slip, Wales may reflect that, on another night, Iceland would have scored a hatful in that second half. But they dug in and got a precious point. In fact, that match wasn’t completely dissimilar to Montenegro away last month, in which Wales could have both scored and conceded a big number. No wonder Craig Bellamy gets so excited before each match. His team are wonderfully entertaining to watch. Especially for the neutral, one suspects, but there it is.
FULL TIME: Iceland 2-2 Wales
The whistle goes. A few Iceland players crumble to the floor. They wanted the win. Wales a bit happier to have hung on for the point. Åge Fridtjof Hareide and Craig Bellamy enjoy a smiley embrace. Their teams have put on a show tonight.
90 min +3: Sigurdsson is this close to releasing Óskarsson down the inside left with a precision pass, but Cabango slides to extend a leg and hook clear. What an interception! It’s surely secured Wales their point.
90 min +2: … but that last stand might have been enough to earn a point. Williams takes his sweet time over a throw upfield and the clock ticks on.
90 min +1: The first of three additional minutes. Wales line up on the edge of their own box. Iceland take a few shots. All are blocked. Wales hanging on by their fingernails!
90 min: Thorsteinsson comes in from the left, drops a shoulder, and creams a low curler that beats Ward all ends up, only to twang off the base of the right-hand post and away. Iceland so close to a sensational second-half comeback!
89 min: Cooper crosses from the left. Valdimarsson comes to the edge of his box to punch clear under pressure from Wilson. Some pinball. Then Iceland counter, and …
87 min: Tómasson latches onto a loose pass in the centre circle and strides forward into acres of space, but with options up with him, seems to lose all confidence and grinds to a halt. Very strange. Wales will take it.
86 min: So far, Iceland have taken 18 attempts to Wales’ eight. It’s been a game of two halves all right.
84 min: Gylfi Sigurdsson, formerly of Swansea City, replaces Gudjohnsen.
83 min: The home fans are in good voice as their team continue to snap into every challenge. “As an Iceland fan, I was considering just going to bed and cracking open a good book at halftime,” begins Kári Tulinius, “but decided that I didn’t sit through three thousand dire two-nil defeats in my youth to give up now. Three thousand two-nils taught me never to expect a victory, but I’m kinda expecting Iceland to win now.”
82 min: Traustason comes on for Iceland’s captain Gudmundsson.
81 min: Burns plays a blind backpass down the Icelandic right. Óskarsson latches onto it and sends a screamer across Ward and inches wide of the left-hand post. Wales are hanging on now. They’ve been hanging on since the start of the second half, really.
79 min: … especially as nothing comes of the resulting corner.
78 min: Thorsteinsson powers down the left and into the Wales box. He could shoot, but opts to slip in Ellertsson to his right. He could shoot, too, but shuttles the ball on further for Óskarsson, who can only win a corner. The Icelandic trio should have done better than that.
76 min: Wales make a double change. Cullen and Cabango come on for Roberts – whose head must be spinning after falling for that backheel and dribble - and Thomas.
74 min: That was a sensational run by Tómasson, who earned the lucky deflection he got off Ward at the end. No blame on the keeper, who had to do something at his near post, with the Iceland substitute dancing towards him at speed.
GOAL! Iceland 2-2 Wales (Ward og 72)
This is outrageously good. Thorsteinsson sends Tómasson clear down the left with a cute backheel. Tómasson enters the box and dribbles all the way along the byline, leaving Roberts for dead, before hitting a low cutback that hits the diving Ward’s supporting arm and deflects in.
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71 min: That’s the least Iceland deserve if we’re being honest with ourselves. Iceland have been first to pretty much everything since the break. And now their fans are in full voice. You know the one. HÚH! HÚH! HÚH!
GOAL! Iceland 1-2 Wales (Tómasson 69)
The corner, from the left, is worked back to Tómasson on the left-hand edge of the D. He’s got space to line up a shot, and curls across Ward and into the bottom right. Now that one was unstoppable. It’s fair to say it had been coming.
68 min: Thórdarson delaps another throw into the Wales box from the left. The visitors half clear, but Gudmundsson pearls what looks like an unstoppable shot towards the bottom left. But Ward somehow stops it! The ball pings off his wrist and over the bar. But from the corner …
66 min: Cooper concedes a foul this time, flipping Gudmundsson over on the right flank. The set piece is launched diagonally towards Óskarsson on the left-hand edge of the six-yard box, but the Iceland striker can’t shape his body to make a connection. Wales get away with one there, because that was surely a goal had Óskarsson sorted himself out.
64 min: Tómasson wins a ball down the left and powers down the wing. His low cross is meant for Óskarsson, who goes over under a challenge from Cooper, but there’s no way it’s a penalty. Iceland have another go, and this time Gudjohnsen slices a shot wide left.
62 min: The best form of defence is attack, and Cooper whistles a vicious daisy-cutter towards the bottom-left corner, forcing Valdimarsson to turn around the post. Nothing comes of the resulting corner, but that’s better from Wales.
60 min: Wales fail to clear the resulting free kick properly, allowing Gudmundsson the chance to slash a shot wide right from the edge of the box. Wales are finding it difficult to suppress Iceland’s second-half … what’s the word? … hwyl.
59 min: James is booked for sliding in on Gudmundsson. Studs on shin. There didn’t seem much malice in the challenge, but the Wales midfielder was slightly out of control. He’s fortunate the referee looks on him favourably. Others may have brandished red.
57 min: Wales are rattled. Suddenly passes aren’t sticking, balls shanked out of play. On the touchline, Craig Bellamy looks concerned. Thórdarson launches another long throw into the mixer. Moore draws a foul from someone in the packed box, and the pressure is momentarily released.
55 min: Thorsteinsson takes down a poor Welsh clearance and attempts to barge his way clear down the inside-left channel. He can’t get a shot away, and is then adjudged to have handled. The whistle goes. But then Iceland come again, the livewire Óskarsson taking down a right-wing cross and spinning on a sixpence before launching a shot towards the top right. Ward catches spectacularly at full stretch. How on earth have Iceland not at least reduced their arrears?
53 min: Óskarsson has come alive. He juggles the ball on the edge of the D to thoroughly confuse Davies, before slipping another pass wide right, again for Ellertsson, who again is free. And again he cocks it up, leaning back and shovelling hysterically over the bar. Somewhere in a parallel universe, it’s 3-2 to Iceland. They’ve come flying out of the blocks after the break.
52 min: Iceland have clearly been given the hairdryer treatment at half-time, and not just because of the temperature in Reykjavik. Moore attempts to fight fire with fire and is booked for clattering Ingason in mid-air.
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50 min: Iceland should be back in it. Óskarsson, on the edge of the Wales D, slips a pass to his right for Ellertsson. He’s clear, but instead of slotting with his right, opts to use his left peg instead, twisting his body uncomfortably before slamming the shot inches wide. What a chance! And it nearly doesn’t matter, with Óskarsson taking matters into his own hands soon after the restart, dribbling down the inside-right channel and making enough space to batter a rising shot past Ward but off the top of the bar.
48 min: Thórdarson launches a long throw into the Wales mixer from the right. Rodon, having taken an almighty run-up to meet the dropping ball, smashes a clearing header miles up the park. That was no-nonsense defending 101.
47 min: Williams is after another assist, and he crosses from a deep position on the left in the hope of locating Moore in the box. His accuracy is all out of whack this time.
Wales get the second half underway. Iceland have made two changes, replacing Finnsson and Willumsson with Tómasson and Ellertsson, while Wales have sent on Burns in place of Johnson. Incidentally, in the other match in Group B4, it was goalless at half-time between Turkey and Montenegro. As things stand, Wales will go two points clear of Turkey at the top of the table.
Half-time reading. One bit of news that wouldn’t have reached the UK last year was the sad passing of Bjarni Felixson, the legendary and much-loved RÚV commentator, who died at the age of 86. I was fortunate enough to interview this true gentleman a few years ago, so it’s only right we mark his passing in this journal for the record. Here’s his story if you missed it the first time around. Go well, Bjarni Fel.
HALF TIME: Iceland 0-2 Wales
Craig Bellamy was right to be excited. Watching Wales is fun.
45 min: There will be one additional minute. “Did Micheal Sheen give the pre-game hype speech again?” wonders Mary Waltz. “Wales looks inspired.”
43 min: Wilson drops deep and slips a pass down the middle to release Thomas, who can neither force the ball past Valdimarsson nor take it around him. If only Wilson could have got on the end of his own pass.
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41 min: Roberts is booked for … well, that’s not very clear either. A bit too much yap? Delaying the restart? Speaking of running one’s mouth off, Craig Bellamy responds to the decision by hollering “That’s fucking criminal!” clearly and at a volume that rings around all of Wales thanks to the S4C microphones. The wonders of modern technology.
39 min: Thorsteinsson and Willumsson combine to win a long ball down the middle and tee up Gudmundsson on the edge of the Wales box. Gudmundsson shoots fiercely, but the shot’s deflected over the bar, and the flag then pops up anyway. Offside or a foul? Not sure, to be frank, but sometimes the details don’t make much difference. We play on. “Wales look well defined, clear plan and structure,” says David Bowen. “Incredibly, it looks like 3-2-5 in possession and after a few years of fairly turgid tactics, it’s a breath of fresh air. Neco Williams having the five minutes of his life also helps.”
37 min: Gudmundsson aims the free kick for the top-right corner. Over the wall and over the bar. Not a million miles away, but always going over, and Ward had it covered anyway.
36 min: Davies is spun with unfortunate ease down the inside-right channel by Óskarsson, the Iceland striker displaying some delightful skill with a dragback and swivel. A free kick just to the right of the Welsh D. The captain Gudmundsson to take.
34 min: That booking means Williams will miss the home game against Montenegro on Monday night.
32 min: Before the goal kick can be taken, Thorsteinsson, holding onto the ball, has it knocked out of his hand from behind by Johnson. Thorsteinsson takes umbrage, and a handful of Johnson’s shirt. Johnson responds with a shove, flattening his opponent with suspicious ease, and goes into the book.
31 min: Iceland nearly hit back immediately! Finnsson is sent into the Welsh box down the inside-left channel. He reaches the byline and cuts back for Gudjohnsen, who slams goalwards from the left-hand corner of the six-yard box towards the bottom right. It’s surely a goal, with Ward beaten, but that man Neco Williams is on hand to hook off the line! The ball eventually pings off a blue shirt and out for a goal kick.
GOAL! Iceland 0-2 Wales (Wilson 29)
Revenge is a dish best served piping hot! Seconds after taking an unnecessary hoof in the swingers, Williams gets up and sends another Alexander-Arnoldesque ping down the middle from deep to release Wilson. It’s a carbon copy of the opening goal so far … but this time Wilson pearls a shot into the bottom left, giving Valdimarsson no chance. What a goal!
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28 min: Thórdarson is booked for hanging out a leg, flush on the horizontal, to stop an in-flight Williams. His boot catches the poor Welsh defender plumb in the Necos. Ooyah, oof, that’s gotta hurt.
27 min: … nothing much occurs. But the little success Iceland have had in attack has come down their left flank.
26 min: Johnson crosses from the right for Moore, who can’t get a header on target. Iceland break up the other end, Thorsteinsson feeding Óskarsson down the left. Óskarsson wins a corner, from which …
24 min: Wilson drops a shoulder to make some space down the inside-right channel and has a dig. His shot is deflected off Ingason and wrong-foots Valdimarsson, who is rooted to the spot. But the ball twangs off the base of the right-hand post and away. So close to a second for Wales.
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23 min: Wales stroke it around in pretty triangles. The aesthete in the dugout will be delighted.
21 min: Thórdarson flays a ridiculous shot several miles over the bar from the best part of 30 yards. It’s a bit early for this type of desperation, though having said that Iceland have to date achieved the square root of nix in the final third, so in that context the lottery-ticket purchase isn’t quite so outrageous.
20 min: Wilson and Thorsteinsson come together while competing for a 50-50. The former winds the latter. It takes a wee while for the Icelandic forward to get back up, but he does eventually.
19 min: Johnson swings a low cross in from the right. Moore attempts to hook it home from six yards, but can’t quite get enough purchase on his effort and it’s an easy claim for Valdimarsson in the Iceland goal.
17 min: Thorsteinsson and Finnsson briefly threaten to combine dangerously down the left, but hesitate and are forced to turn tail. The former eventually sprays a wild deep cross out for a goal kick.
16 min: Willumsson hassles Davies, who faffs around with the ball at his feet in his own box, but the pressure only leads to a goal kick. Iceland haven’t put together much of a response.
14 min: Well that sparked the match into life. Absolutely nothing had occurred up until that point, but suddenly Craig Bellamy’s Entertainers sprang into life. What a show!
13 min: That was a hell of a pass by Williams, dropping perfectly to Wilson, who had timed his run to the nanosecond, splitting the Icelandic offside trap.
GOAL! Iceland 0-1 Wales (Johnson 11)
… so having said that, Williams, quarterbacking from deep, swivels and plays a cute reverse long pass down the middle, from the halfway line. It drops to Wilson, who attempts to slot across Valdimarsson towards the bottom right. The keeper gets a bit of the ball, but can’t stop it rolling agonisingly towards the line. He eventually scrambles back to hook it clear, only for Johnson to arrive and tap home from a yard!
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10 min: Wales pass it around the back awhile to no great effect. This match hasn’t really got going yet.
8 min: Gudjohnsen pops up on the other flank and he’s got men in the middle, but he can’t find them because Roberts, currently stuck to him like glue, cuts out the cross. That’s good play all round.
7 min: Gudjohnsen takes issue with Roberts stopping a quick throw. Again, this all happens near the halfway line, and the referee can’t be bothered to get involved.
5 min: Other than Thorsteinsson’s aforementioned drive down the left, absolutely nothing of note has happened yet.
3 min: Thorsteinsson wins the first corner of the match with a determined run down the left channel. He takes it himself. Rodon, in the thick of it early doors, heads powerfully clear.
2 min: A fairly scrappy start. Rodon clatters into Óskarsson, a garden-variety foul in the midfield which for some reason highly amuses Åge Fridtjof Hareide. A jolly smile spreads across his face.
Iceland get the ball rolling. As befits the nomenclature, it’s below zero.
The teams are out! Iceland in blue, Wales in red, all the requisite forms hopefully filled out correctly, and in triplicate. We’ll be off in a minute!
As for the Welsh under-21s, there’s been a bit of a cock-up on the organisational front. Six players of the squad – Cardiff’s Rubin Colwill, Blackburn’s Owen Beck, Wolves’ Lewys Benjamin, Sheffield United’s Owen Hampson, Villanovense’s Josh Farrell and Brighton’s Ed Turns – were deemed ineligible to play in this afternoon’s crucial Euro U21 qualifier with Czechia due to what the FAW have described as [squints, adjusts pince-nez] an “administrative error”. Wales have gone on to lose the match 2-1, and blow the chance of automatic qualification by either finishing top or being one of the best runners-up. Now they’ll not even make the qualification play-offs should the Czechs beat Lithuania at home on Tuesday. Anyway, any old excuse …
A reminder of how Group B4 stands before kick-off tonight. Turkey host Montenegro in Samsun in the other match.
Turkey P2 W1 D1 L0 F3 A1 Pts 4
Wales P2 W1 D1 L0 F2 A1 Pts 4
Iceland P2 W1 D0 L1 F3 A3 Pts 3
Montenegro P2 W0 D0 L2 F1 A4 Pts 0
Craig Bellamy speaks to S4C: “We’ve tried to pick the team that has the best chance of giving us a positive result tonight … we have a strong bench … we do have a game on Monday as well … transitions and set plays, they are very useful … we have to be switched on … it’s a great opportunity for us to hit home the players’ ideas and the identity we want from the team … are we good without the ball? … are we organised? … are we able to control the tempo? … difficult to do away from home … they are key elements of the game.”
Iceland’s midfield includes Willum Thor Willumsson of Birmingham City and Stefán Teitur Thórdarson of Preston North End. Brentford reserve keeper Hakon Rafn Valdimarsson starts in goal. Victor Pálsson of Plymouth Argyle and Alfons Sampsted of Birmingham are on the bench alongside Gylfi Sigurdsson, formerly of Swansea, Tottenham and Everton. Fiorentina forward Albert Guðmundsson was cleared of sexual assault charges by a Reykjavik court yesterday; he’s eligible to play but not named in Åge Fridtjof Hareide’s matchday squad.
Iceland have won their last two matches at home: 4-0 against Liechtenstein in Euro 2024 qualifying last October, and 2-0 against Montenegro in this Nations League group last month. If they win this one tonight, it’ll be the first time they’ve won three home fixtures in a row since 2019. Should the Welsh win, they’ll register their first back-to-back away victories since 2020.
History suggests Wales are more likely to extend their run. They’ve won each of their last four matches against Iceland, the most recent in 2014. By contrast, Iceland have only beaten Wales once in seven meetings, back in 1984. Should Wales win tonight, it’ll only be the third time in history that they’ll have won five successive matches against the same opponent: Wales have clocked up five in a row against Azerbaijan (2005-2019) and six against Luxembourg (1974-2010).
Wales make four changes to the starting XI named for the 2-1 win in Montenegro last month. Danny Ward, Brennan Johnson, Jordan James and Sorba Thomas replaces Karl Darlow, Lewis Koumas, Chris Mepham and the injured Ethan Ampadu. Aaron Ramsey and Daniel James are also missing because of injury; Ben Davies will wear the captain’s armband in Ramsey’s absence.
The teams
Wales: Ward, Roberts, Rodon, B Davies, N Williams, Thomas, Wilson, J James, Cooper, Johnson, Moore.
Subs: Darlow, A Davies, Mepham, Norrington-Davies, Brooks, Koumas, Cullen, Cabango, Harris, Burns, Sheehan, Broadhead.
Iceland: Valdimarsson, Fridriksson, Gretarsson, Ingasson, Finnsonn, J Gudmundsson, S Thordarson, Willumsson, A Gudjohnsen, Oskarsson, Thorsteinsson.
Subs: Olafsson, P Gunnarsson, Sampsted, Palsson, Hermansson, Willumsson, G Sigurdsson, Tomasson, Anderson, Johannesson, Traustason, Ellertsson.
Referee: Antoni Bandic (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
👀 Byrjunarliðið gegn Wales!
— Knattspyrnusambandið (@footballiceland) October 11, 2024
🎟 Miðasala á https://t.co/iwyH4UEb7x - frábært veður, fjölmennum á völlinn!
https://t.co/jsTLKKxMZu
‼ This is how we start our match against Wales in the UEFA Nations League.#viðerumísland pic.twitter.com/fixcFE2EqJ
CYMRU XI 🇮🇸🏴
— Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) October 11, 2024
Tân yn erbyn iâ 🔥❄️
💻 https://t.co/Ee3GvSzrRg#NationsLeague | #TogetherStronger pic.twitter.com/bgUvaorYf2
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Preamble
“I’d be worried if there wasn’t expectations,” says Craig Bellamy as he heads into his second round of fixtures as Wales boss. “I certainly don’t believe in ever trying to play them down. I don’t think that would be fair to people who come to watch. If they’re excited that’s exactly where we want them to be. I’ve got to be honest, I’m excited!”
OK, you’ve sold it, we’re on board too. The all-new freewheeling Wales are in Reykjavík tonight, attempting to follow up exhilarating performances against Turkey and Montenegro with another against Iceland. The show begins at 7.45pm BST. It’s on! HÚH!
