The Iceland men's national under-21 football team is a national under-21 football team of Iceland and is controlled by the Football Association of Iceland. The team is considered to be the feeder team for the senior Icelandic men's national football team. Since the establishment of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in 1978, the team has reached the Euro Championship finals on two occasions, most recently in 2021. In the 2011 and 2021 tournaments they were knocked out in the group stages.
The team is for Icelandic players aged under 21 at the start of the calendar year in which a two-year UEFA European Under-21 Championship campaign begins, so some players can remain with the squad until the age of 23. Players can represent Iceland at any level as long as they are eligible, giving them the option to compete for the U21s, senior team, and then U21s once more. This has been the case for several senior team players like Eiður Guðjohnsen, Heiðar Helguson, Jón Daði Böðvarsson and Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson.
History From 1978 to 2009 the team never qualified for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship tournament finals. In late 2010, the team sealed qualification to the championships for the very first team in their history. During the qualification stage they finished second in their group behind the Czech Republic and qualified for the playoffs as a result of being one of the best runners-up in the whole qualification process. Their most notable win came in a 4–1 home victory over Germany. In the next stage they played against Scotland in a two-legged affair in which they won 4–2 on aggregate over the two games.
Their remarkable qualification campaign saw them qualify for the finals where they were drawn against Belarus, Denmark and Switzerland in Group A. In their first two group games they were comfortably beaten by Belarus and Switzerland. In their final group game they defeated Denmark who were the hosts of the tournament 3–1. Iceland would finish third in the group, level on points with the second placed and fourth placed teams. Following the end of the tournament, UEFA announced its Team of the Tournament with striker Kolbeinn Sigþórsson named on the list.
Iceland qualified to the tournament for the second time in 2021.
Competition records
UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship YearRoundPosition 1978 to 2009did not qualify 2011Group Stage5th310235–22013 to 2019did not qualify 2021Group Stage15th300318–7Total0 Titles0/26105413–9
UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification
2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship play-offs
The four play-off winners qualify for the final tournament.
All times are CEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Recent results and forthcoming fixtures DateCompetitionLocationOpponentResultScorersOSK Brestsky, Brest, Belarus Víkingsvöllur, Reykjavík, IcelandVíkingsvöllur, Reykjavík, IcelandSportpark Eschen-Mauren, Eschen, LiechtensteinTheodoros Kolokotronis Stadium, Tripoli, Greece Estádio Municipal de Portimão, Portimão, PortugalDasaki Stadium, Achna, CyprusVíkingsvöllur, Reykjavík, IcelandVíkingsvöllur, Reykjavík, IcelandVíkingsvöllur, Reykjavík, IcelandVíkingsvöllur, Reykjavík, IcelandStadion Střelecký ostrov, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Players Current squad The following players were called up for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group C matches against Faroe Islands and Estonia on 4 and 8 September; respectively.
Caps and goals updated as of 8 September 2025, after the match against Estonia. Names in bold denote players who have been capped for the senior team.
Recent call-ups The following players are still eligible for and have previously been called up to the under-21 squad.
Previous squads 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squad 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship squad
Records Most caps As of 17 November 2022, the 10 players with the most U-21 caps for Iceland are:
RankNameCareerCapsGoals1Alfons Sampsted2017–20203012Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson2007–20122723Bjarni Viðarsson2005–20112664Birkir Bjarnason2006–20112535Brynjólfur Andersen Willumsson2019–20222556Jón Dagur Þorsteinsson2017–20212357Orri Sigurður Ómarsson2013–2016210Alex Þór Hauksson2017–20212119Ari Leifsson2017–202120110Pétur Marteinsson1992–1995190Bjarni Guðjónsson1996–2001194Ómar Jóhannsson2000–2003190Rúrik Gíslason2005–2011196Haraldur Björnsson2007–2011190Willum Þór Willumsson2018–2021193Kolbeinn Þórðarson2019–2022191
In bold players still playing or available for selection.
Top goalscorers As of 17 November 2022, the 10 players with the most U-21 goals for Iceland are:
RankNameCareerGoalsCapsGPG1Emil Atlason2012–20148122Hannes Sigurðsson2002–2005714Sveinn Aron Guðjohnsen2018–20217174Kristian Hlynsson2021–610Kristall Máni Ingason2021–610Gylfi Sigurðsson2007–2011614Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson2008–2011614Albert Guðmundsson2015–2018615Rúrik Gíslason2005–2011619Bjarni Viðarsson2005–2011626
In bold players still playing or available for selection.
See also Iceland men's national football team Iceland men's national under-19 football team Iceland men's national under-17 football team Iceland women's national football team
References
External links Official Site Official Site under-21 results Profile & squad at UEFA.com