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MW: I read an interview with Iceland’s former technical director who said that a commitment to giving young players a chance in the professional league was also a crucial piece of the puzzle.

TT: In all interviews with Icelandic players who’ve made it abroad, they all come back to the same thing: that at 15 or 16 they started to play senior football. It’s very important.

MW: Do you have any personal connections with the current team?

TT: I know the chairman very well and the people around the team. The coach, Lars Lagerback (a Swede), he was my mentor when I took my coaching education. And the assistant coach (Heimir Hallgrimsson) visited me when I was in California with the Whitecaps. He was doing his coaching education and he chose to follow our team to see how we train and coach.

MW: As a former Iceland captain, how does it feel to finally see this kind of global success?

TT: I had some fantastic times with the national team. I was captain for several years and I’m very proud of what I did. I got out of there when basically no professional players came from Iceland and I made my career through Sweden and France and for me that was great. But this is something special. This is huge. It’s really nice to watch and I’m so happy for what’s going on. I can promise you that all these guys who are there now have put in some long hours to get where they are.

MW: And they’ll never buy another beer in Reykjavik.

TT: (Laughs) Maybe not. The whole nation is going crazy. I saw on the news there was 70 per cent of all companies closed down while the games were going on. They have some fantastic gatherings with big screens and the streets full of people, and 10 per cent of the nation is in France.