By Mike Babcock
Media Intern
Wednesday, on a hot afternoon at the National Sports Center Stadium, two most unlikely opponents were warming up on the stadium field, preparing to play a game in the Schwan’s USA CUP boys’ 16 trophy division.
On the north side of the field wearing bright orange jerseys was Fylkir, a team hailing from one of the coldest places in the world, Iceland. The players spoke Icelandic, but were quick to respond to any questions in English. As they worked to perfect their side-to-side passes nothing seemed to be on their mind but business.
On the south side of the field things were more relaxed. There were loud laughs and chants, and Spanish was the language of choice. C.U. Mexico moved up and down the side lines juggling the ball, playing a little pass and keeping their bodies loose before the game began.
As the two teams ended their warm-ups and headed toward the field, they eyed each other down. Two unlikely opponents, Mexico and Iceland.
Fylkir is a competitive team playing out of Iceland's capital city, Reykjavik. They are one of just two Iceland teams to make the trip Schwan’s USA CUP, presented by PUMA. C.U. Mexico is one of a large delegation of Mexican teams at the tournament. Their hometown, the capital city of Mexico City is considerably warmer than Reykjavik.
Reykjavik and Mexico City are separated by over 4,000 miles (over 6,000 kilometers); even further when you consider disparate language, culture, history and traditions.
However, on this beautiful Wednesday afternoon in Blaine Minnesota these two international teams met in the middle, on neutral ground, to play the game they love, in the world’s largest amateur sports complex.
“For me it's a unique experience, and it's a very beautiful thing to be around” said C.U. Mexico midfielder Carlos Franco.
Franco and his C.U. Mexico team traveled a long ways to participate in this tournament and are thoroughly enjoying all the people and the beautiful weather. “The main reason we wanted to come here was to play soccer and meet people” commented Alejandro Avila.
On the field the team has had trouble adapting to the different styles of play in Minnesota, explaining that it was especially difficult playing against Iceland's more physical style.
Left: Fylkir, from Iceland, (dark jerseys) used their physical style of play to earn a 3-0 win over C.U. Mexico.
That physical play is something Iceland gained from a trip to Spain where the team got their first experience against international teams.
“European (soccer) is tougher,” explained Fylkir defender Ari Pall Isberg. “It’s more physical, pushing and stuff.”
The tough play is just part of the whole experience for Isberg and his teammates. The team even picked a challenging, different way to raise money for their trip.
“It started selling toilet paper” said player Petur Finnbogason. The team went around door-to-door in Iceland raising money for their trip.
But Fylkir's hard work at home paid off though both on and off the field. They won their first game Tuesday 1-0 over the PSA Thunder from Minnesota. A win against Mexico would give them the inside track for the number one seed in their pool, and a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
Mexico also came into the game undefeated, after beating Littleton United, from Colorado, also 1-0 on Tuesday.
The game was played passionately, with two teams trying to earn a spot in the playoffs Friday morning. With both teams undefeated, it was widely expected that this game would decide the group’s first seed.
Fylkir got a goal from Andri-Agustsson in the sixth minute of play to give them an early 1-0 lead. That lead went right into half time and about halfway into the second half when Fylkir got another goal, and added one last goal to finish the game with a 3-0 win over C.U. Mexico.
Right: Wednesday's stadium game matched up two disparate countries that seldom play on the soccer field: Mexico and Iceland.
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