Both Iceland and Romania will be looking for their second win of Group J when they meet on Thursday at the Laugardalsvollur in the latest World Cup 2022 qualifying game.

The visitors head into the game on a four-game losing run, while the hosts shall be hoping to extend their undefeated streak to three games with a positive result.

Match preview

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Iceland failed to qualify for Euro 2020 in dramatic fashion with the late defeat to Hungary denying them a place at the tournament, and they will be keen to not miss out on another in Qatar.

They became the smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup in 2018 and although they finished bottom of the group, it was an experience that the squad will be hoping to have once again.

However, improvements will be needed if they hope to progress, as they currently sit fifth in the group with only three points, after suffering defeats in their other two games.

A 4-1 win against Liechtenstein helped to offset the disappointing start that Iceland made to proceedings, but defensively they have struggled in the competition so far, having let in six goals in the opening three fixtures.

However, the last two performances from Arnar Vidarsson's squad have been more positive, with a 1-0 victory against the Faroe Islands being followed up by a 2-2 draw with Poland in their most recent outing.

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Their opponents on Thursday have also struggled for form as of late, with Romania coming into this fixture on the back of four consecutive losses, in a period where discipline has also been an issue with two of those games seeing them go down to 10 men.

Despite the defeats, Romania have put up a fight in all of those games and have only lost each one by a single goal, as Mirel Radoi's men have refused to let games run away from them.

Romania have actually qualified for the World Cup on seven different occasions, with their best performance at the tournament taking place in 1994 when they reached the quarter-final.

However, the team have not been involved in the competition since 1998, having failed to qualify ever since, which is what this current crop of players are attempting to set right.

Radoi's squad find themselves level on points with Iceland and this fixture marks an opportunity for both teams to push away from the other, as they attempt to chase Armenia, who currently sit top with nine points.

Team News

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Both Vidar Kjartansson and Gisli Eyjolfsson have been called up to the Iceland squad for the upcoming qualifiers, while young Brentford goalkeeper Patrik Gunnarsson has also been given a chance with the squad.

Young striker Andri Gudjohnsen has also been brought into the group as he hopes to keep following in the footsteps of his father Eidur Gudjohnsen, who also happens to be the assistant manager of the squad.

Romania will be without George Puscas for this game after he was not selected for the squad, although he would not have been able to play in this fixture anyway due to suspension.

Florin Tanase is another name that is likely to miss the game due to an ankle injury he suffered on Sunday, but Romanian fans will be pleased to know that Alexandru Cicaldau is available after overcoming a stomach problem.

Iceland possible starting lineup:
Runarsson; Sampsted, Hermannsson, Bjarnason, Thorarinsson; Gudmundsson, Bjarnason, Anderson, Baldursson, Johannesson, Gudjohnsen

Romania possible starting lineup:
Nita; Sorescu, Chiriches, Nedelcearu, Camora; Marin, Hagi, Stanciu, Cicaldau, Man; Alibec

We say: Iceland 1-1 Romania

Both teams are in a desperate need of three points within this qualification group, but with neither being in particularly great form it is more likely that they will both be cautious.

Because of that, a draw is something that could take place here with each squad hoping to build on that in the group games that follow within this international break.

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