Gylfi Sigurdsson: The future will be bright for Iceland

Iceland, the smallest nation in the tournament, stunned England in the round-of-16 stage, beating them 2-1 to progress to the quarter-finals, but were dumped out of the contest by France who eventually beat them 5-2 on Sunday night in Paris.

Speaking after the match Sigurdsson said: "We're very proud. It's been a fantastic tournament, something special for a small team like us, we probably achieved something no one expected us to.

"It gives the kids back home hope that something like this is possible, and hopefully we'll be back in another finals. Ten or 15 players are a really good age, and we're already looking forward to the World Cup starting. Hopefully the future will be bright for Iceland."

It was Iceland’s first time in the tournament and they have impressed as they remained unbeaten until their meeting with hosts France at the Stade de France.

Iceland captain Aron Gunnarsson said that though they were disappointed, he was proud of their performance in the competition.

"We are disappointed but incredibly proud. It's been an amazing experience. A lot of hard work has gone into this.”

Speaking of the estimated eight per cent of Iceland’s population who had travelled to France to watch their team compete, he added: “The fans have been fantastic. They are still singing, it's unbelievable.

"The French have all left. They are still here. It just shows what we put into this."

The skipper then lamented the poor start that did for their hopes.

"The first half was terrible,” he said of the four goals they conceded in the opening 45 minute, though they were able to claw two goals back in the second half thanks to Kolbeinn Sigthorsson (56') and Birkir Bjarnason (84').

“We managed to play better after the break. We decided we could not leave like that.

"We will learn from this. We are just starting."