Vidarsdóttir unfazed by Germany challenge

For strikers, goals and self-belief go hand-in-hand, so it is hardly surprising the prospect of coming up against a formidable German back four holds few fears for Margrét Lára Vidarsdóttir.

The Iceland forward has an abundance of both having struck 11 times in 12 UEFA Women's EURO 2013 qualifiers before taking her career tally to a remarkable 70 in 89 international appearances with her late penalty against Norway that earned her country their first point at this level. The 1-1 draw actually leaves them ahead of Sunday opponents Germany on goals scored.

It is a radical transformation for the 26-year-old who had two unhappy spells in Germany: the first aged 18  at FCR 2001 Duisburg where the difficulties of settling without friends and family meant a rapid return home before injury sabotaged a switch to 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam in January 2012.

The two aborted attempts to establish herself in the Frauen Bundesliga remain anomalies in a career otherwise stuffed with success on home soil and in Sweden where she now plays her club football for Kristianstads DFF.

"I don't need to prove anything to anyone," Vidarsdóttir said. "I know how good I am, my team-mates know that too. I don't go into a game with that feelling. I just try to do my best for myself, for my team. I'll try to do that again against Germany. I'm approaching my best form again, and hopefully I'll leave the pitch smiling as I did against Norway."

It looked unlikely she would even be on pitch at the Växjö Arena to face the six-time European champions when she left Potsdam just a year ago after an unhappy half-year spell throughout which she was dogged by a hamstring problem.

After taking four months off – "I wanted to resolve my injury problems and take some time out," she explained – she returned to Kristianstads where she had finished as the Swedish league's top scorer in 2011 before her unsuccessful switch to Germany.

With her fitness concerns finally behind her, her smile and her goals have returned. Seven strikes in her club's first 11 matches of the Damallsvenskan boded well as she prepared for the UEFA Women's EURO before her historic strike three minutes from time against Norway confirmed her uncanny ability to find the net remains intact.

"Every goal is important to me and the team. It was a nice goal, but when you score, it's not only about one player, it's the whole team," she said modestly. "Sara [Björk Gunnarsdóttir] did well to get the penalty. It was simply my job to take it."