Euro 2016: Iceland coach says two strikers gives his side extra bite

Sports Friday 01/July/2016 18:51 PM
By: Times News Service
Euro 2016: Iceland coach says two strikers gives his side extra bite

Marseille, France: Iceland's joint coach Lars Lagerback dismissed suggestions on Friday that his team were just a well-oiled defensive unit, pointing out that by playing two strikers his side had more potency than some other nations.
The islanders have been the fairytale story of Euro 2016, knocking out England in the last 16 to qualify for a dream quarter-final with hosts France in Paris on Sunday.
Having scored six goals - as many as France in their four opening matches - the tiniest nation in the competition has proved that it can be effective despite having the least possession of the remaining teams in the tournament.
"When we talk of the defensive aspect, we use all our players and sometimes we ask a little too much of our forwards," Lars lagerback told French daily L'Equipe.
"In football it's difficult to score goals so if we can keep our opponents from scoring, then we give ourselves every chance of winning. So we're very organised and each player has a precise role and fulfils it extremely well."
However, what makes Lagerback's defensive bloc different to some of the other smaller nations in the tournament such as Albania or Northern Ireland, is the decision to play with two strikers in a 4-4-2 formation.
Lagerback argued that if his team were as defensive as some suggest then he would have gone for a 4-5-1 or 5-3-2 system.
Instead he and fellow coach Heimir Hallgrimsson have pushed two men higher up to keep opponents on their toes and quickly break when needed.
"The statistics show that a large majority of goals are scored from inside the box so that's where you need the ball and that's where you need the most players," he said.
"When your players are individually not as good as your opponents, having two strikers gives you a better chance of creating chances ... and even if one of the two has come back to defend, we want him to surge back up the field as quickly as possible when we recover the ball."
When asked about weaknesses in the French game, Lagerback said he thought the style of play could perhaps be exploited by his team.
"I wouldn't talk of weaknesses, but a style and attitude that is quite offensive and that's something we could use," he said.
"The most important is what we will be able to do when we recover the ball and their players are out of position. Against England we improved in that domain and against France we will need to improve that again," he said.

Clean bill
Meanwhile, Iceland have a clean bill of health with captain and long-throw specialist Aron Gunnarsson returning to training on Friday ahead of their European Championship quarterfinal against hosts France on Sunday.
Midfielder Gunnarsson -- whose throw-ins have created two goals for Iceland including one in their win over England on Monday -- sat out of Thursday's training with a back problem.
"He (Gunnarsson) has a little bit of pain coming from his back...and according to the medical team, he shouldn't do anything yesterday," Iceland joint-coach Lars Lagerback told a news conference on Thursday.
"But he will train today, it is no problem, all 23 (players) are fit."
Lagerback is prepared for a feisty encounter with France, and has been focusing his training on tactics rather than physical work to make sure all his players are fit.
"It was a rather a light training yesterday. We try to do some tactical work now, and we will do the same today - a little bit shorter, not too tough."
While his team are injury free, one concern for the coach is the nine players are a booking away from a suspension ahead of the game against hosts France.
They are Kari Arnason, Birkir Bjarnason, Johann Gudmundsson, Aron Gunnarsson, Hannes Halldorsson, Birkir Saevarsson, Kolbeinn Sigthorsson, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Ari Skulason. France have just two players a booking away from a ban, Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny.