On Sunday, November 16, the Ukrainian national team will play its final group stage match of the 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament — against the Icelandic national team. The match is nominally a home game for the Ukrainian national team, but due to the war, it will take place in Warsaw. A day before the game, a pre-match press conference was held in the conference room of the Legia Stadium, which will host this game, with Iceland’s national coach Arnar Gunnlaugsson.
Arnar Gunnlaugsson— After the recent match against Azerbaijan, you said that the second half was so bad that such play would be a death sentence for your team against Ukraine. What do you plan to do to avoid this?
— In defense of my team, I can say that when you’re leading 2—0, you want to conserve some energy. Perhaps this mentally affected how we played that match.
But tomorrow will be a completely different game. It’s a decisive match of great importance for both teams. I think you’ll see a dramatic game with a battle lasting all 90 minutes.
— Against Ukraine in the first match, you conceded 5 goals, and against France in two matches, four goals. Why did this happen?
— The match against Ukraine was one of our best matches. If you analyze the goals we conceded, you’ll conclude that such goals are scored once in a million years. From a great free-kick or beyond the limits — incredible goals!
Conceding four goals in two matches against a top team like the French national team is also nothing to be ashamed of. In these games, we also played with discipline, showed good football. With each international window, we play better and better, and I’m pleased with my team. Ukraine conceded four goals from France in one match, and we did it in two. That’s also a result. I think tomorrow you’ll see a very serious match.
— How might it affect your players that such an important game for the Icelandic national team is an away game?
— Of course, home-field advantage is very important. But in Paris, we started very well too. And that’s also the result of our work. We understand that tomorrow will be a very important match for both teams, and the players will be nervous, so it’s important to gather all nerves, fully concentrate. We understand what’s at stake — qualifying for the World Cup, a tournament that could become the most important in each of our national team’s player’s careers.
We feel this pressure, but we must cope with it and that’s what we’re preparing for.
— How happy are you that a draw would suffice tomorrow? Won’t this play a trick on you if you play for this result?
— We understand that it’s impossible to hold on for 90 minutes. It’s impossible to just defend throughout the match. So, we will think about scoring against Ukraine. We have scored 13 goals in this qualifying tournament, and scored against each of our opponents. That’s also our advantage.
We need to calm down and use our strengths. If we go onto the field with a desire, it will make it easier for Ukraine to secure a victory. So, we are aiming for a win.
Alexander POPOV from Warsaw
