The Board of Directors of the Football Association of Iceland has decided to appoint Arnar Gunnleigsson as the head coach of the national team.
The new coach of the opponent of the national team of Ukraine in Group D of the qualifying tournament for the 2026 World Cup previously worked with the club "Vikingur". The 52-year-old specialist has also coached "Akranes" and was an assistant coach at "Reykjavik". With "Vikingur", Gunnleigsson won the Icelandic Championship twice (2021, 2023) and the Icelandic Cup four times (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023). He was recognized as the best coach of the Icelandic league in 2021 and 2023.
The first matches of the Icelandic national team under the leadership of Arnar Gunnleigsson will be playoff games against Kosovo for promotion to League B of the Nations League. The first match will take place on March 20 at the "Fadil Vokrri" stadium in Pristina, and the return match will be on March 23 at the "Murcia Enrique Roca" arena in Spain.
The 2026 World Cup qualifying matches between Iceland and Ukraine will take place on October 10 and November 16 of this year.