Faroe Islands part-timers 'riding wave' for World Cup dream
It is one of the more unlikely World Cup qualifying stories.
The Faroe Islands, an 18-island volcanic archipelago between Iceland and Scotland, still harbour dreams of making next summer's finals with just one group match left.
The Faroes had never won more than two games in any qualification campaign before, but have now won four of their past five games, including a notable 2-1 home success against second-placed Czech Republic in October.
That means the side, whose name means 'sheep islands' and are ranked 127th out of Fifa's 211 nations, are suddenly face to face with the unexpected concept of permutations.
If they can upset Group L leaders Croatia on Friday, and bottom side Gibraltar avoid defeat in the Czech Republic in Monday's encounter, the Faroese will finish second in the group and qualify for the play-offs in March.
That is a highly unlikely combination of results, though, considering Gibraltar have never registered a qualification point and Croatia have won five of their six group games.
However for the Faroes' 36-year-old central defender Odmar Faero, it's a step beyond anything his nation has achieved before.
"The idea is just to keep riding the wave and to hold on and just see how far it carries us," he said.
"We're soaking this in at the moment and the feeling is that with the results recently, we believe we can go to Croatia and get three points."
Faero, who had spells in Scotland with Keith and Forfar Athletic, is the only Faroese player to have made 50 appearances in European club competitions. His father and grandfather, both called Odmar, also represented the nation that has a population of just under 55,000.
But as exciting as their flirtation with World Cup qualification is, Faero is realistic about their chances.
"I just don't feel like Gibraltar are going to get any points so it's a little bit of a lost cause, but we won't let that affect our performance against Croatia.
"We would be absolutely gutted if Gibraltar do get a draw and we don't fulfil our end of the bargain - that would be the worst I could live with."
