Iceland have been one of the most consistent providers of top players over the last decades in men’s handball, with players like Ólafur Stefánsson, Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson and Alexander Petersson shining over the last decades.

More recently, Iceland produced yet another mesmerising talent, Gísli Þorgeir Kristjánsson, who helped SC Magdeburg seal the Machineseeker EHF Champions League title, being named the MVP of the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 just two weeks ago, adding to his already star-studded resume, having previously secured two titles at the IHF Men’s Super Globe.

Now, Iceland look to have another excellent generation on their hands, the first one to reach the semi-finals at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship since 1993.

Their path to the semi-finals was far from easy and it included a masterstroke of a comeback against Morocco in the first game of the preliminary round, with a 4:0 run to end the game and secure a 17:15 win, as Morocco were in the lead with only seven minutes to go.

Since then, Iceland won five games on the trot, including a 32:28 nail-biting quarter-final against Portugal, which saw another comeback spurred by a 5:0 unanswered run. The main reason for Iceland’s win was a flawless performance from left back Thorsteinn Leó Gunnarsson, who scored 11 goals from 14 shots, being virtually unstoppable.

Gunnarsson is not your typical, modern left back, a fast and technical player, rather than a true powerhouse, standing 2.05m tall, with a penchant for strong shots from the back line, who can dominate the opposing defence with an excellent jump.

“I am really happy to be here and to have scored 11 goals in this game against Portugal, it was a really difficult one, and I hope to progress even further. Now we can really dream about something more. We believed in ourselves, we played like a team, we were one for each other and that could be seen on the court,” says Gunnarsson.

His rise has been well-documented in Iceland, being one of the players who were watched closely, even if his experience at international level was limited, having only played for local club Afturelding Mosfellsbaer.

Yet Gunnarsson, who had a lanky frame a few years ago, had to put in extra work in the gym to become the powerhouse he is now, being able to score 11 goals in a quarter-final at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship.

“I had to work day in and day out in the gym because coaches told me this was the only way I could become a better player. In the past three years, I have gained over 20 kilograms, plenty of muscle, and I think I have become a better player,” says Iceland’s left back.

 

 

His coaches agree with that, despite Gunnarsson needing to improve in all areas over the last years. Slowly but surely, the left back has been getting better and better and finally delivered a flawless game in the most important match of his career so far. 

Gunnarsson did not feature regularly in the first matches at Germany/Greece 2023, scoring only 11 times in the first five games before doubling his tally in only 60 minutes against Portugal, where everything clicked for him, beating time and time again an excellent goalkeeper in Diogo Marques.

It was a performance which definitely raised some eyebrows in Berlin, with scouts and coaches from all over Europe taking note of the performance and highlighting his innate physical qualities, which, with a bit of polishing, can help Gunnarsson become one of the top backs in handball.

Those days are still far ahead, of course, as the 20-year-old Iceland future star needs some more experience under his belt and to learn from mistakes before making the big step.

But that surely does not deter him from dreaming big and hoping for the best in a career which has just started.

“My dream? Surely to go and play in Germany, in the Bundesliga, this is what I want,” says Gunnarsson with a big smile on his face.

Before joining a team in Germany, which is arguably the top domestic competition in the world, Gunnarsson still has two more games to play at the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, where Iceland need a win in the semi-final against Hungary to clinch the best-ever finish in the competition.

“It is surely going to be hard, but we will not back down from the fight. We will give everything we have to be sure that we can qualify for the final. We do not have a secret, but we are fighters and we are a family; we always play for each other and we try to give our best to win,” says Gunnarsson.

“There is not a lot to do in Iceland, so handball is a very nice sport. Therefore we have a lot of talented players who love to play and do it very, very good.”

In a long line of stars, Gunnarsson can be the next one if he calculates the next steps properly and delivers performances such as the one against Portugal. For now, the most important step is the semi-final against Hungary. Win that, and the Bundesliga might be even closer for the player who debuted for the senior national team in 2023.