The stage is set for a wonderful summer of football as the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 tournament gets ready to shine in England this summer.
For Dagný Brynjarsdóttir, it’s a chance to show what her country can do on the biggest stage.
This is the fourth time in a row that Iceland have qualified for the European Championships, first appearing in 2009 - a squad that Brynjarsdóttir was part of despite only being 18 years old at the time.
The midfielder is hoping that her team can put in a good showing across their three group matches, where they will face tough opposition in Belgium, Italy and France.
“Preparations for the tournament have been going well,” Brynjarsdóttir told whufc.com.
“When the Barclays Women’s Super League season concluded, I flew back to Iceland for a pre-camp with a couple of players before traveling to Poland and then Germany for two further camps before the tournament begins.
All of our players are healthy going into the tournament so we’re really excited to begin.”
Iceland took on Poland in their only warm-up fixture ahead of the tournament on 29 June, running out 3-1 winners at the Stadion Dyskobolii Grodzisk Wielkopolski.
And Brynjarsdóttir believes that there was plenty to improve on ahead of their opening match of the tournament despite the victory.
“We didn't play great in the first half but controlled the half for the most part. We came out better in the second half and scored three good goals and that was very positive.
“Hopefully we can build on that performance. We need to fix the things that were not great and build on the things that were good.”
There a feeling of togetherness amongst the Stelpurnar okkar ranks – this is a team that has performed well throughout the calendar year, winning four of their five competitive matches.
That togetherness is echoed by Brynjarsdóttir as the team embark on their next challenge.
“The mood in camp is very good - one of our strengths is the team spirit and the togetherness that we have. We are quite close as a team, so it is always fun to come into camp.
"The aim for us as a team is to win as many games as possible. I really hope we can at least make it out of the group stage - I believe we can do that, our team is good enough to do so.”
Iceland face Belgium in their opening Group D match on Sunday. The Belgian Red Flames have played four warm-up matches ahead of the tournament, which included a 3-0 loss to hosts England at Molineux in June.
Further down the line, she may face her West Ham United team-mate, Hawa Cissoko, who has been named in the France squad ahead of the tournament. It’s a challenge that the midfielder is relishing.
“I really hope Hawa and I will play each other on the field. Normally we're friends on the field but I guess it will mean we won't be friends until the game is over.
“She is a great defender so it will be hard to go through her, but it will be a fun challenge as well,” she explained.
Here's a full rundown of Iceland’s Group D fixtures:
Belgium v Iceland, Sunday 10 July, 5pm BST
Italy v Iceland, Thursday 14 July, 5pm BST
Iceland v France, Monday 18 July, 8pm BST
