Gylfi Sigurdsson says Iceland playing England is a dream

By Rory O'Callaghan

Image: Gylfi Sigurdsson says, as a child, he dreamt about facing England

Gylfi Sigurdsson says he dreamt about playing against England as a child and cannot wait to face the Three Lions at Euro 2016 on Monday.

England take on minnows Iceland at the Allianz Riviera in Nice, with Sigurdsson set to captain his country in their first ever knockout match in a major tournament.

Iceland are yet to lose a match at Euro 2016 and qualified for the last 16 after finishing as runners up in Group F.

Advertisement

England head into the match as strong favourites, given the fact that Iceland have a population of just 330,000 inhabitants to choose from.

Also See:

However, Sigurdsson remains confident and admits he is living out a childhood dream playing against the Three Lions.

Image: Sigurdsson celebrates scoring against Hungary in the group stage of Euro 2016

"Physically I feel really good," the Swansea midfielder said following Wednesday's win over Austria. "We had a few days to recover, which was really important.

"It was a fantastic game. I've dreamt about this since I was a kid, to play against England and to do it in the final 16.

Image: England are strong favourites heading into Monday's match

"I think all the lads will be ready to play tomorrow [Monday]. We're full of excitement, the game is near and hopefully we will do well.

"We're looking forward to a very exciting game, one that I hope we will enjoy."

Despite the fact it will be the biggest game in Iceland's history, only 10 per cent of the crowd in Nice are expected to be supporting the Nordic country, due to UEFA's controversial ticket allocation.

Image: Iceland are yet to lose a match in France and finished ahead of Portugal in Group F

"We would of course loved to have more tickets for the Icelandic people," Sigurdsson said. "UEFA have to find another solution how they distribute the tickets for the knockout games.

"It would have been nice to have 10,000-15,000 people here. But that's just the way it is. I am sure the people at the game will be loud and hopefully we can make them proud."

Outbrain