Jon Dadi Bodvarsson (1st L) of Iceland vies for the ball during the UEFA Euro 2016 Group A qualifying match against Kazakhstan in Reykjavik, Iceland, on Sept. 6, 2015. The match ended with 0-0 draw and Iceland qualified to the UEFA Euro 2016 final round. (Xinhua/Fridthjofur Helgason)
REYKJAVIK, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iceland secured its qualification to the finals of Euro 2016 by holding Kazakhstan to a 0-0 draw in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament at Laugardalvollur Stadium here on Sunday night.
"Maybe we did not have a good game today because this was a difficult game. A lot of teams have problems when you are going to take the final steps," Lars Lagerback, coach of the Icelandic team, told a press conference after the match.
Iceland won a 1-0 game against the Netherlands in Amsterdam last Thursday so as to add its points to 18. By tying Kazakhstan, Iceland got the precious one more point which is crucial for Iceland to secure its qualification to Euro 2016.
"Maybe tonight is not our best performance. If you know one point is enough to be qualified for Euro 2016, it may disturb your mind a little bit. We didn't play so well tonight, but still better than Kazakhstan," Iceland player Vidar Orn Kjartansson said.
It is the first time for Iceland to qualify for a Euro championship finals which will kick off in France on June 10, 2016.
"I think we have a really good team. We are getting better and better and the team-work is really good. When we go to France next year, our goal is to win every game we play. I believe our team and we can do good things in France," added Kjartansson.
Last year, Iceland also defeated the Netherlands 2-0 in the first leg in Reykjavik.
With Iceland's fantastic performance in Euro 2016 qualifier games, it reached an all-time high of 23rd in July's FIFA World Ranking. Iceland placed only 131st in April, 2012.
