With a population of 55,000, a coach who writes crime novels, and a team of part-time players, the tiny Faroe Islands is home to some amazing talent. Qualify for the World Cup.
There are still odds remaining against the team ranked 127th in the FIFA rankings. But it ignored the possibility of joining the controversy.
Even if they beat powerhouse Croatia in Friday’s final group qualifier, they won’t be guaranteed a place in the playoffs for next year’s tournament. To do so, the Faroe Islands will also need to improve on the other group results of second-placed Czech Republic, who will face bottom-placed Gibraltar.
Nevertheless, this is uncharted territory for a country that was once routinely upended by its European rivals. A series of improbable victories led to a belief that the once unthinkable was on the verge of being achieved.
“We are Faroese. Shaped by the winds, battered by the storms, tempered by the rains. We do not back down from great challenges or adversity.”
Coach Aiden Klakstein wrote those words in a letter titled “Adversity, adversity.”
“Sometimes we Faroese are told that we should be realistic about our size and our potential,” Klakstein says. “But if we had thought that way ourselves, there would not have been a strong society like ours here in the Atlantic. We would not have our language, our culture, our land.”
Fellow spirit
The Faroe Islands, at 540 square miles (1,400 square kilometers), slightly larger than Los Angeles and halfway between Scotland and Iceland, have never played in a major tournament. The lowest rank was 198th.
When Klaxstein took over, he said he and his coaching team tried to find the “deepest core of the Faroese spirit.”
His team defeated the Czech Republic 2-1 last month, one of four wins in their last five qualifying matches. With one game remaining, they are in third place in the group, four points behind Croatia and one point behind Czech Republic. The second-place team will advance to the World Cup playoffs, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
By comparison, the Faroe Islands lost eight out of 10 games in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. In the 1994 finals in the United States, they lost all 10 matches.
The improvement is the result of a deliberate effort to raise standards from the youth level.
“We are a very volunteer-based football association,” Kristina Ravnsfjar, grassroots coordinator for the Faroe Islands Football Federation, told The Associated Press. “All of the kids’ coaches are often parents who are new to soccer, so they’re starting from nothing.”
Ravnsfjar said there was a push to get these parents certified in coaching.
“Stakeholders have more information today than they did 10 years ago,” she says.
The Belgian approach to youth development was an inspiration.
“They are not a big country, but they are considered a good country. They have top players,” Ravnsfjar said.
The Faroese children play a 3-on-3 game and are patient with players who may need time to develop physically.
Strong winds are good
The country’s infrastructure has also improved, and while previously it was necessary to use ferries to cross the ocean, it is now possible to connect the major islands with tunnels.
Weather, especially strong winds, is a challenge, but you can use it to your advantage. Croatia narrowly won 1-0 in the capital Tórshavn in September.
The victory over the Czech Republic was also played at the 6,000-seat National Stadium. Montenegro lost 4-0 in Tórshavn last month.
Another advantage is access to the Faroe Islands’ stadiums, Ravnsfjar said, with even the stadiums of top clubs open for everyone to play in.
“It is often said that every village has a church, but every village also has a soccer field,” she says. “Everyone can and does participate in training.
“At the National Stadium, you can see the kindergarteners come in the morning, play a little bit, and then go home.”
Punch above your weight
The best players leave the Faroe Islands’ 10-team semi-professional Premier Division to play in countries such as Denmark, Slovenia and Iceland. Midfielder Geza David Touri plays for Grimsby Town in England’s fourth division. The representative team includes a furniture salesman, a teacher, and a carpenter.
This highlights just how great of a qualifying campaign they had, even if they missed out on the play-offs as expected.
“I can understand people looking at such a small country from the outside and wondering, ‘How on earth is that possible?'” former national team assistant Eli Henze told The Associated Press. “But our players, our coaches are used to facing much, much, much stronger opponents.
“That bravery, bravery and believing in ourselves and punching above our weight is deeply ingrained in who we are…The team has the confidence that they can do anything, and it speaks to them that they have that belief that comes from the heart, not what is told from the head.”
Henze, who works in youth development at the national federation, said the victory in Croatia, which together with Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric qualified for the 2018 World Cup final, will go down in soccer history as “one of the greatest results in history.”
But for Faroe Islands fans, reputation doesn’t matter.
“They just say go out there and beat it,” Henze said. “They don’t care if we’re behind. Just go out there and win.”
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James Robson is https://x.com/James Saran Robson
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
