Hermannsson and Iceland ready for 'cup final'
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
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Iceland have everything to play for heading into their final game against Georgia, and Hjörtur Hermannsson says there will be no holding back as his side chase a semi-final spot.
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Iceland head into their final match against Georgia knowing a win could ensure they reach the last four should the result between Germany and France fall in their favour. Captain Hjörtur Hermannsson gave UEFA.com his thoughts on the tournament so far, and a match he calls Iceland's "cup final".
His team may not yet have hit the high notes in UEFA European Under-17 Championship Group A, but Hermannsson himself has impressed, and headed the equaliser as his side fought back from two goals down against France. Like any good leader, however, Hermannsson knows what really matters and does not dwell on personal achievements.
"It was a great goal for me, and of course I was very happy," he said. "But my performance was no different to any other game. I always give my best. If I can manage to score then it is a bonus. I want to win, and I want three points – that's what really counts."
The result in Monday's match in Ljubljana against Germany was not so favourable, though a stubborn Iceland team stayed in the game until the very end. So how does Hermannsson feel everything went? "It was a good match, pretty even," he said. "Germany were probably the better side, but we fought very hard and it was a good game. We didn't improve as much as we wanted to from our first match, but it was another good team performance.
"It was like a ping-pong match. Sometimes [the Iceland defence] had so much to do and sometimes it was fine. Now we have just a couple of days to recover from what was a very physical game."
Now with everything to play for on a dramatic final matchday, Hermannsson and Iceland will have to hope for a favour from Germany, but must uphold their end of the bargain and are targeting a victory against Georgia.
"We have a huge game ahead, it is a cup final for us and we're going to fight to take this game," added Hermannsson. "We are definitely going to bring our A-game for the Georgia match. There is no doubt about that.
"We are great workers, but we are really very good going forward too. We haven't shown it as much as we would have liked so far in Slovenia, but I know we will in this game."
