SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Iceland will very much be the away team when it faces Mexico on Friday in front of over 60,000 fans in Levi's Stadium, but the coach of the smallest ever nation to make a World Cup isn't expecting the same at Russia 2018.
Asked if the atmosphere going into a stadium full of Mexico fans would be representative of what Iceland may face in Russia, Heimir Hallgrimsson wasn't convinced.
"Not particularly, I think everybody will support Iceland in Russia," said Hallgrimsson in a news conference on the eve of the game against El Tri. "Everybody will be on our side."
Hallgrimsson was probably only half-joking, with the rise of Iceland, which has a population of 350,000, the favorite of many neutrals. However, the coach stressed that the improvement in Icelandic football hasn't happened overnight.
"These guys have been playing consistently well now for six years," said Hallgrimsson. "They are improving all the time and now we have a bigger player pool. It's not only 11 players, it's a really, really good squad."
Hallgrimsson said playing in a venue as big as Levi's Stadium, the long travel distances and the media attention the players and coaches are experiencing ahead of the Mexico games are all positives and striker Aron Gunnarsson doesn't think that the increased focus on the team is damaging the essence of the squad.
"Our identity is being humble, staying true to where we are from," said Gunnarsson in the same press conference. "No one is too big to play for this team. As we've said, our biggest star is the guy who works the hardest."
Iceland open their World Cup campaign against Lionel Messi's Argentina and Hallgrimsson suggested there are certain similarities between the South American side and Friday's opponents Mexico.
"We will be probably be thinking [about] the game against Argentina when we play against Mexico," said Hallgrimsson, before he joked: "So when you see us tomorrow against Mexico, you'll know how we'll play against Argentina."