Euro 2016: Own-goal induced draw with Hungary shows that Iceland has great heart, but little ability

Iceland, darling debutants at the Euro 2016, have drawn so many parallels with the EPL winning Leicester City, we almost came to believe they might win. Well, not believe actually, we just wanted them to win. Three minutes to the whistle, Iceland – leading 1-0 thanks to a 40-minute penalty – had turned these prayers into hope, even expectation.

This wasn’t just the clash between the two weaker teams in Group F. Hungary were called the weakest team of the Euros, and Iceland itself was such a surprise that it fuelled belief. If this volcanic outcrop in the Arctic’s frozen wilderness could beat the Netherlands to qualify for the Euros, who knows how far they might go?

What we did know all along is that Iceland did not have the personnel or the depth. This was all about spirit, about belief, about the small guy making it to the big league. Who doesn’t love that, even if Hungary’s return to the Euros after 30 years was a dreamy affair as well. All the underdog sympathy was heading north north north.

This affinity for the underdog increased after Iceland held mighty Portugal to a draw and Ronaldo criticised Iceland’s “small mentality” in perhaps the most ironic comment of Euro 2016. A win against Hungary was improbable, but not more improbable than holding Portugal to a draw.

The course of the game was determined in the first five minutes though. Hungary had the ball, Iceland was defending. And yet Iceland’s one-goal lead at half time was not surprising. They had a third of the possession, a third of Hungary’s passes, but two of their four chances had been on target. Leicester City has shown already that keeping the ball is so 2012.

There were bad signs, though. In the 32nd minute, Iceland’s creative talisman Gylfi Sigurdsson danced at the edge of Hungary’s box, and had the defender going the other way from the direction of his pass. Trouble is, so did Jon Bodvarsson. In that one moment, the reality loomed: one classy player, 10 others with great heart and belief, and little ability.

Iceland looked heroic, but it when Hungary equalised through an own goal by Iceland’s Birkir Savarsson, it was no surprise – least of all in a competition that’s raining late goals. After the game, Hungary was jubilant, as if they had won the game. Iceland’s players looked crestfallen. Their co-manager Heimir Hallgrimsson took heart in some statitistics, reminding the world that they were the only team to not have lost a game at the European finals. In his other life, Hallgrimsson is a dentist; pain management advice is part and parcel of both his job descriptions.

Such stats and statements seem fine in the build up to a game. After a disappointing result, they serve to only take some of the charm out of Iceland’s remarkable football story. Because by the end of the game Iceland’s players looked exhausted from the defending, for all their fitness and training. This is despite the 66th-minute introduction of strongman Emil Hallfredsson.

We know that teams who don’t like possession have to run more and work harder than teams that have the technical proficiency to keep the ball. Which means not only greater physical demands, but greater composure from the players in tight situations. Greater luck, also. When they conceded the own-goal equaliser to Hungary, it wasn’t a surprise, given the waves of attack. Hungary needed one moment of quality, and that arrived from a slick exchange of passes and a cross that left right-back Birkir Saeversson with no option but to knock the ball into his own net.

There were some positives for Iceland on the pitch, though, Birkir Bjarnason, most notably. After Hallfredsson’s introduction, he was put in Bjarnason’s position on the left of the midfield. Bjarnason moved to the centre, where captain Gunnarsson had been deployed. Nicknamed Thor, the scorer of the goal against Portugal looked like he belonged and was not uncomfortable on the ball.

Iceland’s fate now hinges on its game against the mysterious Austrian team – and mathematical calculations that would confound Loki himself. The table of Group F is looking the exact opposite of what was expected, with Hungary and Iceland in the top half and Austria and Portugal trailing. Hungary will be fancying its chances after another disappointing day at the Portugal office for Cristiano Ronaldo.

There may yet be a twist that can carry Iceland into a fairytale debut. Chances are not high, but the Norsemen want to show they are not here because of chance.