Experience of youth aids Iceland

Experienced Iceland coach Ólafur Thór Gudbjörnsson is relishing the opportunity to demonstrate how much progress his side has made when they take part in this summer's UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship.

'They are growing' 
Gudbjörnsson took charge of the U19 side a decade ago after moving up from U17 level. His knowledge of women's football in Iceland is extensive, particularly at youth level, and he has good reason to believe in the country's future. "I know practically all the young players in Iceland," said the former Valur Reykjavík and Breidablik boss. "I've seen first hand just how much the girls are improving. They are growing as football players, both physically and mentally, and it's very satisfying to see. The coaches shouldn't take all the credit, though. The Football Association of Iceland has played a big role too."

Selection policy
Despite failing to progress from the group stage two years ago, Iceland gave a good account of themselves as hosts. Their steady improvement was confirmed during the qualification for this year's edition in Belarus, with Iceland topping their second round pool in Poland ahead of fellow Scandinavian sides Sweden and Denmark. Gudbjörnsson believes his policy of picking players aged from 15 to 19 is paying dividends, with the team now captained by Fanndís Fridriksdóttir, joint-top scorer in the finals two years ago. "Most of the bigger nations have players with only one or two years difference in age. I effectively had four different age groups playing for us in Poland. The players we have were born between 1990 and 1994. Many of them were already in the team in 2007 and their experience will be invaluable. The other advantage is our players have played together for a longer period and know each other well."

'Very motivated'
Iceland succeeded in avoiding perrenial favourites Germany in the draw, but Gudbjörnsson knows they will need to be at their best to escape a section that includes England, Norway and, once again, Sweden. "We are very much ready for the finals even though we know it will be hard," he said. "We earned our seat at the top table and we deserve to be in these finals. The girls who played in 2007 remember what it was like to take on the best seven teams in Europe and to play exciting games in front of big crowds. The leaders in my team are very motivated and will try hard to get everybody the right frame of mind."