CARSON, Calif. -- Iceland co-manager Lars Lagerback has no hard feelings towards Aron Johannsson for the Icelandic-American striker's 2013 decision to represent the United States over the country he was raised in.
Lagerback coaches Iceland -- which meets a Johannsson-less U.S. team in a friendly on Sunday (3:45 p.m. ET, ESPN2/WatchESPN) -- along with Heimir Hallgrimsson. He was alone at the helm of the tiny (population: 325,000) nation's squad three years ago, when he unsuccessfully tried to recruit the Alabama-born Johannsson, who played for Iceland at youth level, to its senior side.
"You have to respect a player's decision when they have two passports," Lagerback said on Saturday in an interview with ESPN FC.