FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution’s newest acquisition, midfielder Arnór Traustason, has been called into the Iceland national team for the UEFA 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers this March. Traustason, who signed with the Revolution from Swedish side Malmö FF on Tuesday, March 16, will look to add to his 37 international caps with Iceland as the island nation kicks off World Cup qualifying with group stage matches against Germany, Armenia, and Liechtenstein next week.
Iceland will compete in UEFA’s Group J during the 10-match group stage, during which it will play two matches each against Germany, Romania, North Macedonia, Armenia, and Liechtenstein. The top team in each group after 10 contests will automatically qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, while the second-place team will advance to the second round of qualifying. Iceland opens the group stage on Thursday, March 25 (3:45 p.m. ET) away against Germany, followed by visits to Armenia on Sunday, March 28 (12:00 p.m. ET), and Liechtenstein on Wednesday, March 31 (2:45 p.m. ET).
In his international career, Traustason has collected 37 caps and scored five goals with the Iceland national team. The Keflavik native represented Iceland at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, as well as the 2016 European Championship. Traustason made two appearances at Euro 2016, which saw Iceland make a historic run to the quarterfinal – the country’s best all-time finish in the continental competition – and scored the game-winning goal in a group stage match against Austria that propelled the team into the knockout phase. Traustason also represented Iceland extensively as a youth international, making 19 appearances at the Under-21, Under-19, and Under-17 levels.
Traustason, 27, joined the Revolution on Tuesday via transfer from Malmö after registering 17 goals and 20 assists in more than 100 appearances across all competitions with the reigning Swedish champions, including 34 games played in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The six-foot winger helped Malmö capture the 2020 Allsvenskan title, one season after the club finished one point shy of winning the league in 2019. Traustason also contributed to runner-up finishes in the 2019-20 and 2017-18 Swedish Cups.
Prior to joining Malmö ahead of the 2018 season, Traustason spent one year with Austria Bundesliga side Rapid Wien, making eight appearances in the 2016-17 UEFA Europa League. Traustason completed a loan spell to Greek side AEK Athens in the first half of the 2017-18 campaign, helping the club win the Super League 1 championship. From 2014-16, the right-footed attacker featured for Swedish Allsvenskan side IFK Norrköping and claimed his first two professional titles in 2015, when he lifted the Allsvenskan and Swedish Super Cup trophies. Before joining Norrköping, the winger spent the first four seasons of his professional career with his hometown club, Keflavík ÍF, of Iceland’s top-flight Úrvalsdeild karla, submitting 14 goals in 56 appearances across all competitions.
After these three upcoming contests with Iceland, Traustason will look to join the Revolution’s preseason training camp following receipt of his P-1 visa and International Transfer Certificate. New England travels to Los Angeles on March 24 and will open its five-game preseason schedule on Saturday, March 27 against the LA Galaxy. The Revs’ 2021 MLS regular season kicks off Saturday, April 17 at Chicago Fire FC, followed by the home opener at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, April 24 vs. D.C. United.
