“Aura” – Iceland’s Gisli Kristjansson on squad goals at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025

Around half-an-hour after he had helped his Iceland side to a three-goal win against Egypt in their main round opener in Zagreb, Gisli Kristjansson arrived in the mixed zone, ready to talk to the world’s media.

His delay had come from meeting numerous friends and family in the stands following the victory, including his mother, Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, the newly-appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland.

An additional 500 Icelandic fans had come over for their crunch match against the African champions, a victory which underlined the potential of the European team.

Once in the mixed zone he spoke to numerous Icelandic media before finally getting to ihf.info, almost 45 minutes after the final buzzer.

“Huge,” he said with a big smile when asked what it meant to have the large Icelandic support inside the arena. “And it's a huge win for us, because we all know how good of a team Egypt is, and to always be in a comfortable lead of four or five goals the whole game says something about us and where our standards are now.

“Frankly, no,” admitted Kristjansson about if he expected the nature of the win. “I knew that we had the capabilities to do it, but that we would execute it so well, like we did this game, well…

“In the first half, specifically, when we ran the second wave and the third wave, we did that really well, and because we are in a really good physical shape, it was something that we profited from a lot. 

“From our side, it was not a perfect game; there were some goals in the defence and there were some offensive moments that we need to analyse and to be better with – and that's what I always say: handball is a game of mistakes. In the end, the team who makes the fewest mistakes, ends on top.

“For us, it doesn't matter if you make a turnover, you just need to concentrate on the next offensive play, the next defensive play – it’s like, just ‘f**k it’ and just head on. Our turnovers are not dumb turnovers, we are not throwing the balls directly into the hands of our opponents, they have been more like too many steps or we have run out of passes or something like that and that's a good thing.”

Iceland have a long history in the IHF Men’s World Championship dating back to their debut in 1958, when they finished 10th. Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 is their 23rd appearance, with their best ranking coming back in 1997, with a fifth-place spot.

And with six points in their locker already in the main round this time, they have one foot in the quarter-finals and their best ranking since 2011, when they finished sixth. 

Kristjansson is now in his fourth IHF Men’s World Championship after making his debut in 2019, when Iceland finished 11th. Egypt 2021 saw a 20th-place finish and in 2023 it was 12th.

Back at the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship, Gudmundsson told ihf.info that the national men’s team were undergoing a generational change and it would “take time”, their 20th-place ranking, their lowest-ever, evidence of that.

And it appears that the time is now.

“Quite frankly, there has been a big tournament each year and this time, I can tell you, it feels different for sure (this time) – the aura of the team, the presence and the cockiness,” says the SC Magdeburg centre back.

“It's not arrogance or something like that, it's more like we know what we can do, and we know which level we can drop onto. For instance, last year, we were cocky, but it was like we hadn't done anything – we haven't done anything before today, because we needed to bring something to the court first. We needed to bring some craziness, to bring some of what defines as Icelandic and that's what I think we have done really good so far here.”

And with his fare share of injuries in recent years, Kristjansson is enjoying himself on court for his country, whatever the competition, an integral part of his country’s progress on court – and, as ever, assisted by an Icelandic legend.

“We feel comfortable because we're exactly on the same page about handball,” he said about captain Aron Palmarsson, who is looking as good as ever. “We see the game, not exactly the same, but similar and he is such a great player, leader and captain who is huge for us.

“Everything is top notch, my body is feeling good and, mentally, I'm really, really hungry for something big this year.

“I can’t complain so far, of course, when you play every second day, there are always some small, some minor things. But overall, I'm happy. I'm positive. I'm looking forward to the next game. Playing for Iceland is really special moment for every Icelander.”