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Belgium vs Iceland match facts

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

  • Belgium and Iceland meet for just the fourth time with little to choose between them over the years as Group D gets under way in Manchester.
  • Iceland were victorious in the last meeting between these two nations, winning 2-1 in an Algarve Cup group stage game in March 2016. Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir gave Iceland an early lead, only for Janice Cayman to equalise just before the interval. Dagný Brynjarsdóttir secured Iceland's first ever win against the Belgians with a goal in additional time at the end of the second half.
  • Both sides have one win apiece in this fixture, each scoring twice across the three meetings.
  • Iceland had failed to find the net in the first two fixtures between the teams prior to that 2-1 Algarve Cup success.
  • The only previous competitive encounters for these teams came in qualifying for UEFA Women's EURO 2013. The pair played out a goalless draw in Reykjavík in September 2011 before Belgium recorded a narrow home victory six months later courtesy of Tessa Wullaert's 66th-minute goal.
  • Belgium made their major tournament debut at EURO 2017, finishing third in Group A behind eventual winners the Netherlands and Denmark, who would also reach the final. The Red Flames' sole win came on Matchday 2, Ives Serneels' side earning 2-0 success against Norway in Breda.
  • Iceland are at their fourth EURO tournament. They finished bottom of their group in 2009 and 2017 either side of reaching the quarter-finals in 2013, when they were eliminated by hosts Sweden.
  • Iceland's only win in their ten finals matches was a 1-0 Matchday 3 against the Netherlands in 2013, giving them a last-eight spot at the expense of their opponents.
  • Belgium secured their place at only their second UEFA EURO by winning Group H thanks to seven victories in their eight matches. The exception was a 2-1 loss to eventual runners-up Switzerland in Thun in September 2020.
  • Iceland made it to their fourth successive EURO finals as one of the three best second-placed sides, collecting 19 points from a possible 24 to finish as runners-up to Sweden in Group F. They dropped points only against the Blågult, drawing 1-1 in Reykjavík in September 2020 before a 2-0 away defeat the following month.
  • Ones to watch: Belgium
  • Janice Cayman
  • The 33-year-old got Belgium's equaliser in the last meeting between these sides, the 2-1 Algarve Cup group defeat in March 2016.
  • The versatile forward scored Belgium's second goal in their only victory at EURO 2017, that 2-0 Matchday 2 success against Norway.
  • Cayman started all of Belgium's eight EURO 2022 qualifiers, one of seven players to do so.
  • The Lyon attacker became Belgium's most-capped player in June 2021 by making her 112th appearance, surpassing Aline Zeler's previous record.
  • Tine De Caigny
  • The 25-year-old was the top scorer overall in qualifying for EURO 2022, hitting 12 goals in her seven appearances, eight of them coming against Lithuania – five in a 6-0 home victory and three more away (9-0).
  • De Caigny has continued that form into the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifiers, striking ten times in her eight outings including a hat-trick in a 19-0 win against Armenia on 25 November.
  • The forward played every minute of Belgium's EURO 2017 campaign but is still to find the net at the tournament.
  • The striker scored twice on her first start for the Red Flames, an 11-0 victory against Greece in a 2015 Women's World Cup qualifier in September 2014.
  • Tessa Wullaert
  • The 29-year-old scored the only goal in Belgium's solitary victory to date against Iceland, in EURO 2013 qualifying in Dessel in April 2012.
  • The striker will be on familiar turf at the Manchester City Academy Stadium having spent two seasons with Manchester City before rejoining Anderlecht in 2020. She won the FA Women's Cup and the FA Women's League Cup with City in 2018/19.
  • Wullaert is the top goalscorer in qualifying for the 2023 Women's World Cup with 15 goals in eight appearances, including five in the Red Flames' record 19-0 victory against Armenia on 25 November.
  • The Belgium captain is her country's all-time record scorer, becoming the first player to reach 50 goals for the Red Flames with her goal in the EURO 2022 qualifier against Switzerland in December 2020.
  • Ones to watch: Iceland
  • Dagný Brynjarsdóttir
  • The 30-year-old came on to score the winner in added time in the last meeting between these two nations in Iceland's 2-1 Algarve Cup group victory in March 2016.
  • Only Elín Metta Jensen (six) in the Iceland squad scored more goals in EURO 2022 qualifying than Brynjarsdóttir's five, a total that included a hat-trick in the 9-0 win against Latvia in September 2020.
  • Brynjarsdóttir struck the winning goal in Iceland's only EURO finals success so far, a header against the Netherlands on Matchday 3 in 2013.
  • The midfielder moved to England in January 2021 to join Women's Super League side West Ham United, having previously represented German side Bayern München and had a spell in the United States with the Portland Thorns.
  • Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir
  • The 31-year-old has made more EURO appearances for Iceland than any other player, featuring in all ten of her side's final fixtures to date.
  • Gunnarsdóttir became Iceland's leading appearance maker in October 2020, surpassing Katrín Jónsdóttir's milestone of 133 caps in the EURO 2022 qualifying defeat away to Sweden.
  • The skipper started all eight of Iceland's qualifiers for this tournament, one of five players to do so.
  • The midfielder, who will move to Juventus for the 2022/23 campaign, claimed her second UEFA Women's Champions League winners' medal with Lyon in 2021/22.
  • Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir
  • The 33-year-old scored the fifth-minute opener in Iceland's 2-1 Algarve Cup success against Belgium in March 2016.
  • The midfielder has three goals in qualifying for the 2023 Women's World Cup; only Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir, with four, has scored more for Iceland.
  • Jónsdóttir has started all six of Iceland's qualifiers for next year's World Cup, having begun all eight games en route to EURO 2022.
  • The Orlando Pride player made her senior Iceland debut as a substitute in a 2-0 EURO 2013 qualifying win away to Northern Ireland in October 2011.

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