GUDNI Bergsson should be a record breaker when he returns from his World Cup mission with Iceland.

Two games in the space of four days will see the Wanderers skipper become his country's most capped player.

Bergsson, who made his international bow in 1984, is still going strong on 69 not out, joint second in the national rankings and just one behind the current record holder.

Suddenly, thanks to the World Cup organisers' decision to give Iceland two qualifying games in the space of four days, he has the chance to overtake Atli Edvaldsson's 70 caps and set a new mark which could stand for many years.

"It would mean a great deal to me if I could get the record," Bergsson said as he prepared for the games in Lithuania next Saturday and at home to Romania the following Wednesday.

In world terms, a 70-cap record is rather modest but, as Bergsson points out: "We haven't got to the finals of the major tournaments ... yet." Nevertheless, hope springs eternal and, although Iceland rank among the poor relations of European, never mind World, football they have scored some notable victories and are gaining a reputation for making a nuisance of themselves in qualifying groups.

"We are still trying," Bergsson insists, "They are very optimistic people up there!"

Proud captain of his national side, the stylish defender acknowledges they have never hit the heights on the world stage but treasures memories of famous triumphs - a 2-0 European championship victory over Spain in Reykjavik in 1991 ("as big a surprise to us as it was to the Spanish") and a 1-1 draw with the mighty Soviet Union in a 1989 World Cup qualifier in Moscow.

He has come a long way since his international debut in a 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia in Dharan in September 1984 and so has Iceland as a footballing nation.

The Guinness Book of World Soccer, in which Bergsson will soon feature as a record breaker, states: "Iceland have not come close to qualifying for a major tournament but more and more they are affecting the outcome of qualifying groups.

"Their progress serves as a model for countries such as Malta, Luxembourg and Cyprus as to how the future of their game could be."

The Burnden skipper is held in such high esteem in Iceland that his national bosses are prepared to allow him to play for Wanderers at Wolves on Wednesday and delay linking up with their World Cup squad.

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