Gylfi Sigurdsson says lining up for Iceland in their first ever World Cup game will represent the pinnacle of his international career as he insisted his side are “focused on making a good start against a very good team” when they face Argentina on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 2pm).
Sigurdsson admits getting a result against Jorge Sampaoli’s heavily-fancied side would be a major feat as Iceland open their Group D campaign in Moscow.
The 28-year-old has recently returned to action after more than three months out with a knee injury, which he picked up in Everton’s 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on March 10.
The Blues' record signing, who joined last summer from Swansea, made his comeback in Iceland’s friendly against Norway in Reykjavik on June 2 and wasted no time in showcasing his class. After being brought on as a 64th-minute substitute he took just six minutes to get on the scoresheet – brilliantly chipping Norway goalkeeper Rune Jarstein.
It was Sigurdsson’s 19th international goal and he followed this up with another impressive display as he played 67 minutes in Iceland’s 2-2 draw with Ghana five days later.
Sigurdsson – who sits third in his country’s all-time goalscorer list – is now eager to get going on the global stage as his side prepare for their showdown with Lionel Messi and Co.
“It will mean a lot, we have never been anywhere close to a World Cup and it is our first time so it will be a special day,” he told evertontv. “We will be playing against one of the best teams in the world and that is what you want in your first game in the World Cup finals.
“It will be right up there [as a highlight of my career]. As a kid, you don’t expect to be playing for Iceland in a World Cup so it is something I dreamt of.
“When you are playing for Iceland, if you play at a World Cup it probably won’t get bigger.
“It will be tough [against Argentina], just look at their squad, they have some of the best players in the world in every position and a big squad as well so a lot of players to choose from.
“It would be unbelievable if we got anything out of the game and then we would have two more games to give a good chance of qualifying. We aren’t looking that far, we are focusing on a good start against a very good team.”
Sigurdsson admits getting a result against Jorge Sampaoli’s heavily-fancied side would be a major feat as Iceland open their Group D campaign in Moscow.
The 28-year-old has recently returned to action after more than three months out with a knee injury, which he picked up in Everton’s 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on March 10.
The Blues' record signing, who joined last summer from Swansea, made his comeback in Iceland’s friendly against Norway in Reykjavik on June 2 and wasted no time in showcasing his class. After being brought on as a 64th-minute substitute he took just six minutes to get on the scoresheet – brilliantly chipping Norway goalkeeper Rune Jarstein.
It was Sigurdsson’s 19th international goal and he followed this up with another impressive display as he played 67 minutes in Iceland’s 2-2 draw with Ghana five days later.
Sigurdsson – who sits third in his country’s all-time goalscorer list – is now eager to get going on the global stage as his side prepare for their showdown with Lionel Messi and Co.
“It will mean a lot, we have never been anywhere close to a World Cup and it is our first time so it will be a special day,” he told evertontv. “We will be playing against one of the best teams in the world and that is what you want in your first game in the World Cup finals.
“It will be right up there [as a highlight of my career]. As a kid, you don’t expect to be playing for Iceland in a World Cup so it is something I dreamt of.
“When you are playing for Iceland, if you play at a World Cup it probably won’t get bigger.
“It will be tough [against Argentina], just look at their squad, they have some of the best players in the world in every position and a big squad as well so a lot of players to choose from.
“It would be unbelievable if we got anything out of the game and then we would have two more games to give a good chance of qualifying. We aren’t looking that far, we are focusing on a good start against a very good team.”
After the Argentina clash, Iceland face Nigeria on June 22 before rounding off their group stage matches against Croatia four days later.
Sigurdsson admits even qualifying for the World Cup is “an incredible achievement”. Iceland booked their spot in Russia having finishing top of a qualification group which included Croatia, Turkey and Ukraine.
During the qualifying campaign, Sigurdsson underlined his status as his country’s talisman as he hit 25 per cent of their goals.
The playmaker says his country have earned the right to grace football’s grandest stage for the first time and are now eager to create more history.
“In the last five or six years it has changed dramatically and now we are at the stage we are playing against the best teams in the world,” he explained.
“It is different to when I started playing for the national team in a good way because you want to play in these tournaments especially for a small country like Iceland, we are proud of what we have achieved already.
“We want to do well and win some games, we are in a tough group so we will see how it plans out.
“We always want more and push ourselves and see how far we can go. If we can get out the group then that would be a better achievement than qualifying.”
Sigurdsson says Iceland will use a similar template to the one which brought them such success at the European Championships in France two years ago.
Iceland reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 after famously dispatching England 2-1 in the first knockout round.
“It [our success at the Euros] came down to the team being organised and having a talented group of players,” he explains. “We had no pressure – getting to the Euros was a big thing for us, we enjoyed every minute of it. We will approach the World Cup in the same way.
“It is what the country has been waiting for the last couple of years and to be playing the best teams is exciting.”
Sigurdsson admits even qualifying for the World Cup is “an incredible achievement”. Iceland booked their spot in Russia having finishing top of a qualification group which included Croatia, Turkey and Ukraine.
During the qualifying campaign, Sigurdsson underlined his status as his country’s talisman as he hit 25 per cent of their goals.
The playmaker says his country have earned the right to grace football’s grandest stage for the first time and are now eager to create more history.
“In the last five or six years it has changed dramatically and now we are at the stage we are playing against the best teams in the world,” he explained.
“It is different to when I started playing for the national team in a good way because you want to play in these tournaments especially for a small country like Iceland, we are proud of what we have achieved already.
“We want to do well and win some games, we are in a tough group so we will see how it plans out.
“We always want more and push ourselves and see how far we can go. If we can get out the group then that would be a better achievement than qualifying.”
Sigurdsson says Iceland will use a similar template to the one which brought them such success at the European Championships in France two years ago.
Iceland reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 after famously dispatching England 2-1 in the first knockout round.
“It [our success at the Euros] came down to the team being organised and having a talented group of players,” he explains. “We had no pressure – getting to the Euros was a big thing for us, we enjoyed every minute of it. We will approach the World Cup in the same way.
“It is what the country has been waiting for the last couple of years and to be playing the best teams is exciting.”
