Berglind Thorvaldsdóttir made up for her failed spot-kick with Iceland’s opening goal at Euro 2022 but it was cancelled out by Justine Vanhaevermaet’s successful penalty to earn Belgium a point in east Manchester.
Coming into the tournament, Iceland’s star player, Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir, had described the prospect of playing at the Academy Stadium on the Etihad Campus, in the shadow of its big brother, as “embarrassing”. Her argument stood up as both ends were closed to spectators due to the fact Uefa do not permit terracing during the tournament. The capacity was reduced by a third – there were 3,809 inside the ground – although the Iceland thunderclap and those in possession of drums tried to make up for the absent thousands.
