ENGLAND may still be having nightmares about last year's Euro 2016 exit to Iceland, but Burnley winger Johann Berg Gudmundsson is confident of coming up with an equally horrifying sequel should the two nations meet in Russia next summer.

While World Cup qualification for the Three Lions was met with a shrug of the shoulders and a deluge of paper aeroplanes over the past couple of weeks, Iceland's history making progress to Russia, secured thanks to two Gudmundsson goals, sparked incredible scenes in Reykjavik as fans and players celebrated together.

The 26-year-old has played his club football in England for more than three years now and was bemused at the reaction that greeted qualification for Gareth Southgate's squad. The Clarets wide man believes the pressure can weigh down on England, and he cautions against any expectations of winning the World Cup next summer.

And if Gudmundsson has his way it could be Iceland that ends that dream as he targets a reunion with England in the group stage.

"Hopefully we'll get them in the group phase," he said when asked if he would be happy to face England again. "It was a great game for us last time and I believe we could beat them again."

England have cruised through another qualification campaign since the 2-1 defeat to Iceland in Nice in the last 16 of the European Championships, but Gudmundsson believes there could still be a hangover from the night that cost Roy Hodgson his job and was one of the low points in the Three Lions' history.

"You read it in the media - they always come back to that game. The Iceland humiliation - but as I said before the demand is a bit more," he said.

"They should be doing a bit better but they won the group comfortably so you can't be too hard on them. It's about what they do in Russia - when it matters on the big stage in Russia. That's when you have to do well.

"I'm not expecting - and hopefully you're not - for England to win the World Cup. Maybe you are? I think they should be doing a bit better and hopefully they can do it in the next World Cup - as long as they don't meet us."

Gudmundsson scored his sixth and seventh Iceland goals during the international break, netting in the 3-0 win over Turkey and the 2-0 success against Kosovo that secured top spot in Group I.

In the process Iceland became the smallest nation ever to qualify for a World Cup, and while Wales were unable to back up their success in Euro 2016, Iceland have managed to continue progressing.

"We said straight away when we knew the World Cup group that we wanted to get into the first two places, that was our aim," Gudmundsson said.

"That was the target, a lot of people thought it was over, that we wouldn't do it again. But to do it as such a small nation - to go the Euros was a massive achievement.

"I understand people didn't think we would do it twice in a row. But we just said we wanted to get in those first two places. It wasn't going to be terrible if we'd ended up third or fourth - it was a tough group. People in Iceland wouldn't have hammered us if that had happened. But we believed we could win the group and luckily enough we did it."

For the past 15 years Iceland's football association (KSI) has invested in indoor football facilities to help the game grow, but Gudmundsson believes the current crop of players are a one-off, united by a club-like mentality that other national associations could learn from.

"Yes the facilities have helped us but it is a golden generation," he said. "It's going to be tough for the next teams who come after us to do the same.

"You can't expect Iceland to be in every major tournament from now on but at the moment we are doing really well and hopefully we can do it for a number of years - but it's going to be really tough.

"I think it's a team effort, you see in the big teams there are a lot of egos doing their own things. In Iceland everyone knows their roles, doing it for each other. They could learn something but I don't think any of them are going to look at Iceland and start trying to learn from them."

The lack of egos is perhaps best summed up by manager Heimir Hallgrimsson, who was co-manager during Euro 2016 before taking over sole charge from Lars Lagerback.

Hallgrimsson combines his role as national team coach with being the dentist on the tiny island of Heimaey.

"He's a great coach," Gudmundsson said of the man equally adept with teeth as tactics.

"When Lars Lagerback left a lot of people thought he couldn't do it on his own. He's still working a bit as a dentist. He's not going to become a big ego because he's reached the World Cup.

"We've all got our feet on the ground. We just have to have a good plan in place to do as well as we did in the Euros."