World Cup 2014: Eidur Gudjohnsen and Iceland prepare to party Gudjohnsen was supposed to be all washed up, packed off to a West Coast twilight zone with the Seattle Sounders, and yet now the "blond Maradona," inspired by a revival in his form at Club Brugge, finds himself engineering a national renaissance. During the 90 nerve-shredding minutes of Tuesday night's 1-1 draw with Norway, Reykjavik was deserted, local newspapers reported, save for the odd feral cat. The city's residents speak only of strakamir okkar, or "our boys." The Premier League duo of Gylfi Sigurdsson, such a revelation for Tottenham this season, and Cardiff City's Aron Gunnarsson are accorded a level of reverence that Iceland's natives once reserved for the heroes of their voluminous medieval sagas. "I cannot describe the feeling," Gunnarsson reflected in Oslo. We are just very proud. A tipping point, clearly, for their profile came in the match against Switzerland last month, when they transformed a 4-1 deficit after 54 minutes into a 4-4 draw, channelling every last drop of that fabled Icelandic resilience. It helps the team's popularity hugely that Gudjohnsen is back in the fray again, too. Iceland's most beloved footballer had largely been forgotten about when he broke his tibia and fibula for AEK Athens in 2011, but the sight of his name on the play-off teamsheet should be enough to warm the sternest trawlerman's heart. He has been deified in his homeland from the moment he entered as a substitute in a 1996 friendly with Switzerland, replacing none other than his father, as they became first parent-son duo ever to compete in the same international. While the rise of Iceland as a football behemoth has been subtle and steady, ever since they held Germany to a goalless draw in 2003, the chance to bring a dash of sub-Arctic cool to the Copacabana next summer is more than they could ever reasonably have envisaged. Their story is, like the qualification of Bosnia-Herzogovina 20 years on from the siege of Mostar, among the most stirring to emerge from this extraordinary European campaign. There is a significant debt of gratitude to manager Lars Lagerback, the Swede who arrived with such proven pedigree after taking his own country to two World Cups, before steering Nigeria to the finals again in 2010. If Gunnarson maintains that these Icelanders "do not scare easily," then it is an attitude inculcated by their imperturbable mentor. But there are more profound lessons to be gleaned from Iceland's advance to the edge of glory. We could learn much from the wider culture of egalitarianism, and not just because they are enlightened enough to have the world's first openly gay head of government, in prime minister Johanna Siguroardottir. And in their football structure, they possess the underpinnings to make a little go a frighteningly long way. Take their under-21 team, already joint top of the qualifying group for the 2015 championship in the Czech Republic, who have furnished the seniors with no fewer than 17 players to enrich their attacking, aesthetically delightful style. We can rest assured that Roy Hodgson, even in England's hour of joy, will have taken notice. He boasts such a web of Nordic connections that a running joke at Craven Cottage in his Fulham days used to be, "Oh, Roy's gone to Iceland." Given the exploits of Gudjohnsen et al, it would not be such a strange detour after all.