In Ireland, were not exactly averse to giving ourselves a quick pat on the back every now and again. Win, we're great. Lose and we're great losers. That's not to say that's not actually true. We are great of course, but we're not the only ones.
While we count ourselves the perennial underdogs, the nature of Iceland's run to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 has firmly put us in our place in that regard. The size of their population has been referenced time and time again but, it's still necessary to say it once more. 323,002 at last count. That's over 200,000 less than Luxembourg.
It's been talked about so much that's it's just starting to sound a bit staid and patronising at this stage but, by right, they really shouldn't have been there in the first place. To build what they've built in a football sense is extraordinary.
The fact that they were going into the game against France with any kind of belief was a testament to one of the most extraordinary tournament performances of all time.
The Mountain was feeling confident.
— Hafþór J Björnsson (@ThorBjornsson_) July 3, 2016
Unfortunately, it didn't quite go to plan for Iceland. France stepped into the noise of the Stade de France and were horribly professional about it all. Iceland weren't going to go home with their tails between their legs however. Two goals, a substitute appearance from Eidur Gudjohnsen and you'd be forgiven for thinking it was Iceland heading through to face Germany in the semi-final.
That was the significant proportion of the Icelandic population that was in Saint Denis last night but it was this image of the fan park in Reykjavik that really brought home just how much Euro 2016 has captured an entire country.
One last clap for Iceland and its historic run to the EURO quarterfinals. https://t.co/g5bsNV77sT
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 3, 2016
And one more of the entire crowd for good measure.
Meanwhile in Reykjavik. (The building on the waterfront is the magnificant Harpa) #ISL pic.twitter.com/uYi0M3qOxd
— Nick Harris (@sportingintel) July 3, 2016
