Iceland overcame the second-half sending-off of Olafur Skulason to hold on for a 0-0 draw against Croatia in the first leg of their World Cup playoff on Friday, keeping the tiny Nordic nation in contention for a place at its first major tournament.
After a tight first half, the Croatians
took command in Reykjavik after Skulason was dismissed for a professional foul on Ivan Perisic in the 51st minute, but couldn't find a way past Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson and his packed defense.
Eduardo had a weak shot cleared away from near the goal line after barely a minute for Croatia, whose substitute Ivica Olic forced a fine reaction save from Halldorsson in the 55th.
The second leg is in Zagreb on Tuesday, with Iceland with a population of around 320,000 looking to become the least populous country to play at a World Cup. Trinidad and Tobago, with about 1.2 million inhabitants, currently holds the record from the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Around 10,000 Iceland fans were at the Laugardalsvollur national stadium in temperatures of 3 C (38 F) and swirling winds to witness the biggest football match in their country's history, and they cheered the blowing of the final whistle as if their team had won.
