IRELAND v ISLANDS

The Faroe Islands FA became a member of FIFA in 1988 and joined UEFA in 1990. It is the fourth smallest country in UEFA by population and they have never advanced to the finals of any of the major competitions. They took part in the Island games in 1989 and 1991 and won both tournaments and they also played in the Nordic Championships in 2000-1 but it has not been played since. The faroes team is known as landslioio and their home matches are played either at Savangaskaro or Torsvollur. Of course their first international match was played against Iceland and their biggest win was against Gibraltar. Goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen plays for Motherwell, but the rest of the squad play for Scandinavian clubs. The Faroes play Northern Ireland today in their European Championships qualifying league; The Faroes took the lead against Finalnd in their last outing but lost 1-3. Nielsen thinks his team can casue an upset today. The Republic of Ireland play other "minnows" Gibraltar.
In September the Scottish Women's FA beat the Faroes Women 9-0. For a small country, its an impressive effort to get these teams playing at this level.