Football: Reykjavik in party mood as Iceland reach first World Cup

Emmsje Gauti, one of Iceland’ most famous rappers, joined in the celebrations with the national team, who jumped around in delight, amd sang ‘Reykjavík er okkar’, ‘Reykjavik is ours’.
At the American Bar, the biggest sports bar in downtown Reykjavík, the cry was: “Iceland to the World Cup”. Outside the rain came down but inside nothing could dampen the spirits.
“The smallest country to get to the World Cup by far, this is surreal,” supporter Gunnar Atli Thorodssen said on a busy Monday night. “I have to book my ticket to Russia immediately.”
Iceland has a population of about 350,000 while the previous smallest country to have reached a World Cup was Trinidad & Tobago, in 2006, which had 1.3 million people.
VIKING CLAP
Earlier, team captain Aron Gunnarsson could be seen joining in with the stadium crowd’s now-famous traditional Viking clap.
The crowd in the bar watching on TV clapped along with the primal chant, which is sure to be a feature in Russia next year, as it was at the European Championship in France last year where Iceland beat Austria and England to reach the last eight.
“The World Cup, Pele, Maradona and Aron Einar Gunnarsson,” the national team manager Heimir Hallgrímsson told TV reporters. Behind him, the players joined the crowd in singing “Feroalok”, the team’s anthem, which means: “I am home”.
Gunnarsson has no doubt that the World Cup is where Iceland, ranked 22nd in last month’s world rankings, belong.
“Nonsense? I don’t know if this is nonsense,”