The U.S. Men’s National Team will host Iceland at the Carson, CA StubHub Center on Jan. 31 – the first time the two teams will compete against each other in more than 20 years! The teams are completely tied on their lifetime series with a 2-2-2 record dating back to 1955.
Iceland’s team recently made history when they qualified for the Euro 2016 championship, a massive feat for this underdog team, as they’ve never qualified before. With a population of around 320,000, Iceland is the country with the smallest population in FIFA’s best 50. The team saw a quick turnaround when Lars Lagerback took the role of head coach; the team’s rankings went from 134 to 23 in just five short years.
“Iceland is one of the up-and-coming soccer nations in Europe,” said U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. “They have been really impressive in qualifying for the European Championship for the first time, and they have earned huge compliments for their youth player development. Their players are now spread across the big leagues in Europe.”
Will you be watching the U.S. vs. Iceland match? Tell us on Twitter @IcelandNatural or in the comments below!
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