Iceland: Premier League Nations
The next destination of our alphabetical world tour is Iceland. According to the Premier League website, England’s conquerors at Euro 2016 have been represented by 17 players in the history of the Premier League, the first of whom was…
First Player – Toddy Örlygsson (Nottingham Forest; 1992-93)
Þorvaldur “Toddy” Örlygsson became the first Icelander to play in the Premier League in 1992. He featured 20 times as Forest finished bottom in the inaugural Premier League season.
Örlygsson was one of two Icelanders to feature in 1992/93 alongside Spurs’ Guðni Bergsson. After joining Forest in 1989, Örlygsson spent almost the entirety of the 90s in England with Forest, Stoke and Oldham, though 1992/93 was his only top-flight campaign. He won 41 caps over an eight-year international career.
Records
- Most appearances – Hermann Hreiðarsson (332)
- First appearance – Toddy Örlygsson (Norwich 3-1 NOTTINGHAM FOREST, August 31st 1992)
- Most goals – Gylfi Sigurðsson (60)
- First goal – Toddy Örlygsson (NOTTINGHAM FOREST 3-0 Chelsea, January 16th 1993)
Current/Most Recent Players
Just two Icelanders featured in 2019/20 before the suspension; Burnley’s Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson and Everton’s Gylfi Sigurðsson.
Trivia
- 14 of the 17 Icelandic Premier League players have scored a goal (82.4%). Of all the countries to have had 10 or more players, only Morocco have a better goal scoring ratio (88.2%).
- No player has been relegated more times than Hermann Hreiðarsson (five times, joint with Nathan Blake).
- Former Chelsea and Stoke striker Eiður Guðjohnsen is the only Icelandic player to have won the Premier League or score a Premier League hat-trick.