England vs Iceland: Hannes Halldorsson gives Roy Hodgson's men one more reason to be fearful

Nervous, England fans? You should be...

Halldorsson has an impressive record when it comes to penalties (Getty)

For the first time in four years, England face the prospect of competing in a penalty shoot-out.

Roy Hodgson’s side take on Iceland in the European Championships round of 16 on Monday and, given the national team’s infamously poor track record with spot-kicks, any nerves on the part of England supporters would be understandable.

Memories of Waddle, Southgate and Batty should not be the only cause for trepidation, however.

Yes, Iceland may only be a nation of around 330,000, they may just be ranked 34^th in the world, but their goalkeeper is one of the best around when it comes to stopping penalties.

Hannes Halldorsson has already seen one spot-kick missed against him in this tournament, from Austria’s Aleksandar Dragovic, and his record at club level is impressive.

According to Sandnesposten, the Norwegian newspaper, Halldorsson has faced 24 penalties since 2011, saving nine and seeing five others missed.

Halldorsson watches Dragovic's penalty fly past the post (Getty)

Overall, this means he has conceded from the spot just 42.7 per cent of time.

As a point of comparison, since the inaugural 1992/93 campaign, only 15.58 per cent of Premier League penalties have either missed or been saved.

When asked why he is so tough to beat from 12 yards, Halldorsson told Sandnesposten: “I'm tall and have good responsiveness.

“I'm also good at reading your opponent and guess which side they are going to shoot. So I'm lucky too!”

He also has form. Not only did he watch Dragovic's strike go well past the right-hand post in his last game for his country, his stops won a shoot-out for his club, Bodø/Glimt, in his most recent club match.

The 32-year-old ‘keeper denied players from Haugesund twice from the spot, saving the decisive kick with his foot.

Perhaps it won’t matter. Perhaps England will have the game won inside 120 minutes. If they don’t, though, Halldorsson’s record is one more reason to be fearful.