Iceland striker Heidar Helguson may have lived in England since 2000, but he admits fans in his native country might still know more about Sven’s men than he does.

He has 153 games and 44 strikes for Watford under his belt but, the fact that the Premiership is shown more often in Iceland than in England, means that those back home hold the real knowledge of English football.

"English football is on the television all the time in Iceland," says the 26-year-old. "We get more football over there than you do in England because satellite television shows the big Saturday afternoon games live.

"The players and the fans will all be buzzing when we meet England. The Premiership is the most well-known and the most watched football for us. This will be a massive game for the whole country.

"I think if we can play to our best and England are not fully focused then we could nick a draw or even a win.

"However, if England play to their best I don’t think there is any contest there really. But we have shown before that we can upset the big teams."

While the match will be Sven’s last chance to see his team in action before Portugal, Helguson is looking slightly further ahead, to Iceland’s World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria, Croatia and Sweden.

"Our World Cup group is very hard because it’s not easy to go to those eastern European countries and get a result," says the man who has 26 caps to date.

"But I do fancy our chances at home against all of those teams. Sweden will be the big game because it is like a derby match."

Helguson loves it in England, where he has lived since his £1.5m move to Watford in January 2000. In particular, he has fallen for the golf courses near his Hertfordshire home.

Barely a week goes by without him taking out the frustrations of the football pitch on the fairways.

"I didn’t play golf at all in Iceland," he says. "We had a big tournament in Akureyri, my home town – the Arctic Open – but I never even watched it.

"I’ve got the bug now, though. I read the magazines and play whenever I get the chance. West Herts is my favourite course, not just because it’s the nearest to me, but because it’s always in superb condition.

"If I play well, it’s a good way to relax. But if I don’t, I have to break one of my clubs in half before I go home, just to release that frustration – you know how it is!

"My family are really settled in the area. Aron, who’s five, was only eight months old when my wife Eik and I came over here. With three-year-old Oliver, England is really all they’ve ever known. England’s home for us. Besides, there’s not enough golf courses in Iceland to call it home!"