Iceland midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson. (Photo : Getty Images)
Surprise squad Iceland (0-0-2, 2 points) will try to advance in the knockout stage of the 2016 UEFA European Championship as they meet Group F cellar dwellers Austria (0-1-1, 1 point) at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis this Wednesday, June 22.
Iceland is currently ranked 34th in the world by FIFA and being the smallest nation to ever qualify in the Euros, the team was projected to fall at the bottom of Group F.
However, Strákarnir okkar were able to pull off a couple of draws with world eighth-ranked Portugal and 20th-ranked Hungary in the first two rounds of competitions to settle at the second spot of the group table, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal, as of the moment.
The team held Hungary to a 1-1 draw at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille last Saturday to earn their second point in the group standings, as per Daily Mail Online.
Swansea City midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson netted the opening goal of the match at the 39th minute to put the squad of head coaches Lars Lagerbäck and Heimir Hallgrímsson on top at the half.
Iceland looked headed to a stunning victory over Nemzeti Tizenegy, but their own defender, Birkir Már Saevarsson unfortunately scored an own goal with only two minutes before full time to deny them of the three points in the group table.
Meanwhile, Austria had been a disappointment in the tournament as they were tipped to follow Portugal as the second-placed team in Group F.
Even with the likes of Stoke City's Marko Arnautovic, Basel's Marc Janko, and Ingolstadt's Lukas Hinterseer, the team was still not able to score a single draw in the competitions so far.
After their 0-2 loss to Hungary in the first round, head coach Marcel Koller's side then conceded a goalless draw with Portugal at the Parc des Princes in Paris also last Saturday, ESPN reported.
They would have had their second straight loss and official elimination from the competition if A Selecção captain Ronaldo did not miss his penalty kick in the dying moments.
Iceland is projected to finally score their first victory in the tourney at the expense of the struggling Austrians.
The predicted result is a close 1-0 win for Iceland.
Iceland starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Halldorsson; Saevarsson, Arnason, R. Sigurdsson, Skulason; Gudmundsson, Gunnarsson, G. Sigurdsson, Bjarnason; Sigborsson, Bodvarsson
Austria starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Almer; Klein, Prödl, Hinteregger, Fuchs; Ilsanker, Baumgartlinger; Sabitzer, Alaba, Arnautovic; Harnik
