Faroe Islands: Part-time players who dream of the World Cup

The Faroe Islands’ 12 points are their best ever tally in qualifying.

They trailed the Czechs by one point after winning 2-1 thanks to goals from Hanus Sorensen and Martin Agnarsson.

Both players are only 25 years old and, according to Vairo, represent a new face for the national team.

“I would say they are strong players,” added the KI centre-back. “They have explosiveness, agility, and a youthful naiveté, if you can call it that. They basically don’t care who they’re up against – it’s just water on a duck’s back.

“That’s what you need sometimes. Someone who shows no remorse or respect when we attack.

“We saw that defence, but now suddenly we have some characters in the team who can respond when we attack – that’s one of the reasons we beat Montenegro 4-0.

He added: “So when we face counter-attacks, I think teams wake up and think: OK, this is not just a defensive team.”

Unlike Sorensen and Anarsson, who play professionally in Slovenia and Denmark, Vairo combines football with another job.

He works in a furniture store in his home country, where he has just won the league again with KI.

Coach Ion Cluckstein used to be a crime writer, while Faero and the team’s other part-time players show just how vulnerable the Faroe Islands will be when they face Croatia’s stars, including Luka Modric and Josko Gvardiol, in Rijeka.

“It’s not that different from what you would imagine if it were a semi-professional team in England,” he said.

“There are always a few electricians, a few carpenters. There is a teacher, and then something that is very popular among the young players here is kindergarten work because it has fewer hours and works well with football training.

“There too [Arni] Frederiksberg, who scored the penalty against Montenegro. He’s actually the CEO of a wholesale company and they sell large quantities of food products. “One of the products is pizza, so he’s called a ‘pizza guy,’ but he’s actually a CEO.”