Wednesday, 13th November, 2013
Iceland manager Lars Lagerback has insisted that he has always believed that his side had the potential to reach the World Cup qualification playoffs.
The Scandinavian nation finished second in Group E with 17 points from 10 games, seven points behind leaders Switzerland.
As a result, Iceland advanced to the World Cup qualification playoffs where they will face Croatia in home and away matches on 15th and 19th November respectively.
And Lagerback, who took charge of Iceland in 2011, explained that he was pleased after his side repaid his faith which he placed in them by fulfilling his goals.
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“I thought when I took the job that this was a team with the potential to qualify”, he told FIFA’s official site.
“The first time I met with the players and staff, I set them a goal of climbing around 50 places in the FIFA rankings – and finishing in the top two in our section.
“I looked at the squad, and particularly at the players who had done so well in the 2011 Under-21 Euro in Denmark, and saw that here was a squad with a lot of talent and potential.
“But it’s always easy to set goals; what you need is the players to rise to the challenge and prove that I was right to believe in them. And that is exactly what they have done.”
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