Bjarnason applauded for 'Viking' spirit as Iceland exit World Cup 2018
Birkir Bjarnason played the whole match vs Croatia with a bleeding nose but in the end it was not enough as Iceland bowed out of the FIFA World Cup 2018.
In Short
- Birkir Bjarnason was elbowed by Marko Pjaca on his face early in the match
- Croatia beat Iceland 2-1 in their final group match
- Iceland bowed out of the World Cup as Croatia, Argentina qualified for last 16
Iceland fought bravely till the last minute of their match against Croatia and yet had to bow out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup after a fiery and thrilling contest in Group D.
Ahead of Tuesday's matches, Croatia had already qualified for the Round of 16 and the second spot was up for grabs for all the other teams -- Argentina, Iceland and Nigeria.
Iceland were up against the mighty Croats but their fate also depended on the happening of the other match.
Two years ago, Iceland had shocked the world with their Viking spirit, reaching the quarter-finals of Euro 2016. They wanted to do something similar in Russia.
Also read - World Cup 2018: Croatia top Group D with 2-1 win over Iceland
They fought bravely right from the first second of the match and it was epitomised by their central midfielder Birkir Bjarnason.
10 minutes into the match, Marko Pjaca swung his arm at Bjarnason's face and the latter's nose started bleeding incessantly.
While Pjaca got away with just a yellow card, Bjarnason had to be treated. He had perhaps suffered a broken nose.
With blood streaming out of his nose, all he did was get to plugged to stop the bleeding and rushed back to the field.
Also read - World Cup 2018: Messi takes Argentina to last-16, Peru sign off on a high
Throughout the match, Bjarnason played with that bleeding nose. Every now and then his nose required assistance because the blood just would stop but neither did Bjarnason.
Despite his bravery, where he not only played the game but even tried scoring by feet or by header, Iceland fell short.
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Croatia scored first and even though Iceland equalised with a penalty, Ivan Perisic scored in the 90th minute to surely crush Icelandic dreams. Even though, their dreams had been walked over already with Argentina scoring a late winner over Nigeria in the other match.
Even as Iceland bowed out of the tournament, Twitter saluted their spirit and especially Bjarnason's.
Can we talk about Bjarnason getting his nose broken and just....plugging the flow and getting right back in? #ICECRO pic.twitter.com/k25tYN322m Dresden (@DresdenDawg) June 26, 2018
Thor does bleed. Bjarnason takes an elbow from Pjaca over the eye. Will be difficult to continue. #ISL Gareth Wheeler (@WheelerTSN) June 26, 2018
My nose hurts just looking at Bjarnason #ISLCRO Laura Wardropper (@lauraaaclaire) June 26, 2018
Man.... Bjarnason is the definition of a real Viking...
Bleeding like crazy from his nose after an elbow to the face and still going on! Nazih Fares (@nazihfares) June 26, 2018
Iceland players are tough. This dude basically lost his whole nose -- it fell off, it's in a puddle of blood -- and he's still playing. #ISLvCRO #WorldCup (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) June 26, 2018
Do not watch Bjarnason's elbow to the face in slow motion Natasha (@NatashaNUFC) June 26, 2018
Bjarnason continues to have trouble with his bloody nose #ISLCRO #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/htPYICf8UN JC Zambrano (@jc_zam_brano) June 26, 2018