Celts Cheer as Iceland beat England in the Euros 2016

Iceland secured their place in the quarter finals of the UEFA European Championship (the international men's football championship of Europe) 2016 with a 2-1 victory over England yesterday. There can be no doubt that Iceland deserved to win in a brave, well-organised, superb performance that was in stark contrast to England's lackluster efforts. No-one should be surprised by Iceland's progress to the quarter finals. Their victories over Austria and England came after strong performances over Holland when qualifying for the tournament. 

No surprise that is to anyone other than England and the English media. They took the arrogant attitude that victory over Iceland would be a walkover. An arrogance that those living in the Celtic countries adjacent to England are well used to. Particularly when subjected to the highly pro-English sports coverage from the British Broadcasting Corporation (for British read English). It is also noticeable when news of the Wales football team is reported they are referred to as being 'one of the home nations' or 'British'. When England play they are 'English' of course! Wales (Cymru) have qualified for the quarter finals of the tournament and are the last remaining Celtic representative. Hopefully we can at least start to hear a more balanced coverage of the tournament from the BBC and other English based broadcasters now that England have been deservedly knocked out.

As well as Wales we will also be keen to support the progress of Iceland and wish them well in this competition. Iceland (Icelandic: Ísland), is a Nordic island country between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean and has a population of less than 333,000. The island of Iceland was formed around 25 million years ago and was first settled in the 9th and 10th centuries by the Norse from Scandinavia and Celts from the British Isles. It is a land of great beauty and extreme contrasts with large glaciers and some of the worlds most active volcanoes. It is known by many as "The Land of Fire and Ice".

Depiction below is of Norsemen landing in Iceland – by Norwegian painter Oscar Arnold Wergeland (12 October 1844 – 20 May 1910).