A late penalty from Dagný Brynjarsdóttir wasn’t enough to send Iceland into the quarter-finals of UEFA Women’s Euro 2022, after the drew 1-1 with France.
In their final game of Group D, Stelpurnar okkar fell behind inside the first minute of the game after Melvine Malard slotted home.
Brynjarsdóttir and her team-mates kept going right until the very end, surviving a late scare as Grace Geyoro’s goal was ruled out for offside before added time.
The West Ham United midfielder stepped up at the end to convert a penalty, but it wasn’t enough for Iceland to qualify for the knockout stages.
It couldn’t have been a worse start at the New York Stadium for Iceland - Marland, who was making her first start of the tournament picked her spot with an intelligent finish into the far corner, just out of the reach of Sandra Sigurdardóttir. The strike was the fastest goal ever scored in the history of the Women’s Euro’s – at 43 seconds.
Iceland had to rally, and despite it taking them a little bit of time to feel their way into the game – Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir had their best chance of the first 45 minutes, but she couldn’t steer the effort on target.
Spurred on by the hundreds of Icelandic supporters, their team continued their pursuit of an equaliser - Agla María Albertsdóttir forced Peyraud-Magnin into a good save just after the break.
France had a moment of their own when Geyoro went close ten minutes later - her shot was deflected onto the post by Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir
The first of two disallowed goals for the French would come with 20 minutes of normal time remaining. Malard thought she had her second of the evening, but the goal was eventually ruled out for offside.
France had won their last 16 matches in all competitions going into this final group game, but the disallowed goal seemed to spur them on again. Berglind Björg Þorvaldsdóttir showed great strength and determination to create a shooting chance, but her shot from outside the area fizzed agonisingly past the post.
Geyoro thought she’d secured all three points late on when she bundled the ball home, but VAR overruled the original decision, which would set-up and exciting 12 minutes of injury time.
There was still time for Iceland to win a penalty late on, with Brynjarsdóttir confidently converting from the spot – but it wasn’t enough as Belgium hung on in the other fixture in Group D – meaning that Iceland head home.
They become the first side to either go out in the group game despite ended their campaign unbeaten – Brynjarsdóttir and her team-mates can certainly be proud of their showing at these finals.
Hawa Cissoko was an unused substitute in the match, and her France side will now gear up to face the Netherlands on Saturday.
