Iceland confident ahead of France clash
Gretar Steinsson is confident Iceland's fairytale will continue against France, backing his compatriots to shock the Euro 2016 hosts after achieving the "holy grail" of beating England.
The smallest country to ever grace a major tournament will on Sunday look to secure one of the biggest shocks in recent footballing history at the Stade de France.
The tournament hosts, and favourites from the outset, block their path, but Iceland approach the quarter-final with France in a fearless and confident mindset after shocking England at the last-16 juncture.
Former Iceland defender Steinsson was in Nice to see the incredible, but entirely deserved, 2-1 win - an experience he and the rest of the country will never forget.
"English football is Iceland's holy grail - that's the football we follow," he told Press Association Sport. "And then we were playing against them and all these superstars.
"For all these young Icelandics, the English team is their idols and all of a sudden they've got knocked down by our own.
"They slayed some idols and replaced them, really. Now everyone in Iceland believes they're the greatest ever.
"They knocked out Rooney and the rest. For Iceland that is a great achievement and we're extremely proud of that."
Steinsson knows English football better than most, having played in the Premier League with Bolton before becoming Fleetwood's technical director in January 2015.
It is a job he enjoying more than ever right now - "it's a fantastic week to be Icelandic, especially when you live and work in England" - and the former defender believes the best is yet to come from his countrymen.
"Iceland," Steinsson said when asked who would win on Sunday. "It is an easy one. Iceland will, this will continue.
"I think the teams that play against Iceland from now on are under extreme pressure to win.
"Iceland is going to be less and less pressurised because you don't want to be the team that lost against Iceland.
"Everything is possible... 320,000 people, and we've created people in the Olympics doing extremely well in multiple sports.
"We've created top athletes, we've probably got the best handballers in the world, we've got the strongest people in the world.
"It's about the mindset. The Icelandics have extremely driven mindsets and that shows. It is just people haven't been paying attention for years."
Steinsson believes that mental strength will see Iceland flourish in Paris, where he expects France to play at a better tempo with more panache and width.
Regardless of the result, football clubs and associations across the globe will no doubt be paying close attention to what is going on on the small North Atlantic island - something League One outfit Fleetwood have been ahead of the curve on.
Technical director Steinsson's influence helped set up a partnership with Stjarnan, a small club that, much like Town, has punched well above its weight from humble beginnings.
The latest exchange will see Fleetwood academy coaches Joey Newson and Mason McClelland spend the next week with Stjarnan to better understand their approach.
"Fleetwood is a club that seems not to pay attention to the size or the population of Fleetwood or the surrounding area," Steinsson added.
"It drives forwards and wants to achieve great things and be innovative and different, not so far from the way the Icelandics look at themselves.
"From a small town of a very similar size to Fleetwood, Stjarnan are competing at a very competitive level, playing European football and only lost last year to Inter Milan.
"They're great examples. There's a lot of things to learn out there - the way of thinking, the way of being strong on the vision and the philosophy, and be true to who you are.
"They're a great example for us and over the last year we've been in contact with them in a view to improve and learn from them."