Iceland may be out of Euro 2016, but they certainly went down swinging.
The European minnows had an absolutely sensational tournament, holding semi-finalists Portugal to a 1-1 draw in their opener, drawing with Hungary, defeating Austria and England, before eventually going out in the quarterfinals to hosts France.
Despite being 4-0 down at half-time, Iceland did not give up and fought bravely to outscore France in the second half, with the final scoreline finishing up at 5-2.
France were the better team, controlled the game and never looked like they were going to lose, but that didn’t dishearten Iceland, who refused to relent until the final whistle had been blown.
After the match, the players went over to the crowd to engage in one of the most iconic celebrations of the tournament – the Viking clap. Considering how far they went, what they managed to achieve in the competition and the fact that they went out on their shields, this celebration was on a different emotional level than the one we saw after the England game.
It was nothing short of beautiful.
