Iceland Soccer Team Continues to Surprise at Euro 2016

AS IT IS 2016-07-01 Iceland Soccer Team Continues to Surprise at Euro 2016

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International soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal said the Iceland soccer team at the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament was “not going to do anything.”

His comments came after Iceland tied Ronaldo’s Portuguese¹ team 1-1 in the first week of the tournament.

Then Iceland tied Hungary. Then, it beat Austria. And Iceland advanced to the elimination² rounds of the tournament.

Few expected Iceland to make it that far.

American comedian³ and television show host Stephen Colbert enjoyed the Icelandic announcer⁴ as he reacted to the game-winning goal against Austria.

The announcer screamed, as if he could not believe what had happened.

Colbert talked about the announcer’s excitement on his late-night television show. He joked that his show’s TV network, CBS, might want to consider hiring that announcer to add excitement to its sports programs.

Iceland faced mighty⁵ England on Monday. No one gave the team from Iceland a chance to beat England. After all, only a few players on the team are well-known outside of Iceland.

England has players from famous teams like Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal⁶, Chelsea and Manchester City.

But on Monday, Iceland continued its unbelievable journey. Behind goals from Ragnar Sigurdsson and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson, Iceland defeated England, 2-1.

And soccer fans around the world are still reacting to Iceland’s “Cinderella story.”

The phrase refers to the famous story of Cinderella. In the fairy tale, Cinderella is the overlooked⁷ beauty who catches the eye of the prince at a big party. In sports, the phrase is used for teams that unexpectedly⁸ win at major events.

Before the game against England, Iceland had never won an elimination game at a major international tournament.

Ahead of the tournament, England’s team was ranked 11th in the world. Iceland was ranked 34th.

Iceland may be in the middle of a soccer revolution, says Vice⁹ Sports.

The country has invested¹⁰ money in the sport in recent years. It has built more large buildings where teams can play soccer indoors¹¹. This is important in a place like Iceland, where the weather sometimes makes it impossible to play outdoors.

Before the tournament, Iceland was not seen as a contender¹² for the European championship. One writer put together a silly explanation of how the team from Iceland was chosen. She said the team was made up of 23 men who had nothing better to do in June and July.

But soccer fans now respect the team from Iceland. Many viewers enjoyed the way the players gathered to celebrate with their fans. They stood together, raised their hands above their heads, and clapped slowly before ending with a loud cheer.

Iceland’s players look like they have found a way to win, playing good defense¹³ and waiting for opportunities to attack.

But they will be tested again on Sunday against the tournament’s host nation, France.

Once again, many people think it will be difficult for Iceland to win against a team filled with international superstars.

But after the win against England, anything seems possible.

Iceland’s team manager said “now… every obstacle¹⁴ in their way is going to look smaller.”

Words in This Story

obstacle – n. an object that you have to go around or over : something that blocks your path

superstar – n. an extremely famous and successful performer, athlete, etc.

host – n. a group that organizes an event and provides the things that are needed for that event.

clap – v. to hit the palms of your hands together usually more than once

silly – adj. playful and funny

elimination – n. the act of removing something (from a tournament)

contender– n. a person who has a good chance of winning something in a contest

1 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

2 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

3 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

4 announcer   

n.宣布者；电(视)台播音员，报幕员

参考例句：

• The radio announcer said it was nine o'clock.电台播音员报时9点整。
• The announcer tells the listeners what programme comes next.广播员告诉听众下一个是什么节目。

5 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

6 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

7 overlooked   

v.忽视( overlook的过去式和过去分词 )；监督；俯视；（对不良现象等）不予理会

参考例句：

• He seems to have overlooked one important fact. 他好像忽略了一个重要的事实。
• This is a minor point, but it must not be overlooked. 此事虽小，然亦不可忽视。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 unexpectedly   

adv.未料到地，意外地；竟；居然；骤然

参考例句：

• The volcano unexpectedly blew up early in the morning. 火山一早突然爆发了。
• I had just put the dinner on when Jim walked in unexpectedly. 我刚把晚饭摆上桌，吉姆突然走进来。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 invested   

v.投资，花费( invest的过去式和过去分词 )；授予；（把资金）投入；投入（时间、精力等）

参考例句：

• The money will be invested in managed funds. 这笔钱将投资于管理基金。
• He invested his lawyer with complete power to act for him. 他让律师全权代办。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 indoors   

adv.(在)室内，(在)户内

参考例句：

• Because of the coldness of the weather we stayed indoors.我们因天气寒冷呆在家里。
• It is very cold outside,you'd better come indoors across the board.外面很冷，你们所有人最好都进屋。

12 contender   

n.参赛者

参考例句：

• a contender for a gold medal in the Olympics 奥运金牌的争夺者
• She has recently become a strong contender for the gold medal . 她最近已经成为一个金牌的强有力争夺者。

13 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

14 obstacle   

n.障碍，障碍物，妨害

参考例句：

• She felt that her family was an obstacle to her work.她感到她的家庭妨碍她的工作。
• He is in the full flush of success;nothing was an obstacle.他的成就如日中天，锐不可当。