Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir: The Iceland international finding her feet in the United States

Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir is quickly finding her feet in the United States. After just three games with Angel City FC, she has beaten her return from last season when she registered two goal involvements.

As of now, she has five this term – three goals and two assists.

The 24-year-old moved from Germany in 2025, leaving behind Wolfsburg and Champions League football to continue her growth Stateside. The switch was initially met with questions surrounding the competitiveness of the NWSL compared to the top five football leagues in Europe.

For Jónsdóttir, however, it was a no-brainer.

“I think that’s a big step [from Germany to the USA], but I’m just so happy I came here because this is what I wanted to do. I think the league is great and it doesn’t get as much attention as it should get in Europe,” she said on The Women’s Game podcast.

“People don’t know how good the league is and it surprises me because the USA has one of the best, or the best, national team in the world, and there are so many players that play in the U.S., so it makes sense to me that this league is the most competitive.

“I know that people were not really happy about me coming here. I just wanted to show them that I am going to get better here and I made this step because I know I’ll become a better footballer. [I’ve joined] a great team.”

While moving to a new league has come with new challenges, Jónsdóttir has brought her own winning mentality to a club that has struggled to really make its mark since its inaugural campaign in 2022.

Jónsdóttir is a pacey, quick-footed winger who makes things happen up top. She is undoubtedly one of the most exciting talents in football right now.

What matters most to the Iceland international, however, is helping her side to score goals. She will do whatever she needs to make that happen.

“I hate nothing more than losing,” she said. “However the ball goes in, whatever, I just want to get it as close to the goal so someone can score.

“Just the feeling of seeing the ball in the net… if I score, if someone else scores, I’ll celebrate like crazy because I just want to win every game. What goes through my head is just get the ball in, I don’t care how you do it, just get it in.

“That’s my thought process when I’m racing up the pitch.”

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Jónsdóttir: Football in the family

While many players grow up playing football from an early age, it took a little while for Jónsdóttir to find her way onto a pitch. It wasn’t until she was nine, after a coach encouraged girls to attend football training sessions, that she took that step.

“I liked it so much after the first week that I couldn’t stop,” she said.

Perhaps it is surprising that it took so long for her football journey to begin, given her family's involvement in the game.

While her parents have said they were good at the sport as kids, her uncle became her main point of reference.

Þorsteinn Bjarnason was a former goalkeeper for the Iceland national team, making 28 appearances between 1978 and 1986. His involvement in football was part of the reason this electric winger once dreamed of a career between the sticks.

“I wanted to be a goalkeeper myself,” she revealed. “I was sometimes in goal in practice. I didn’t know which position to play.

“But it was good to know that he was in the national team, that it is possible if you train hard. I really wanted to play for Iceland too; knowing that someone who is so close to me had already done this really motivated me.”

Jónsdóttir has now played over 50 times for her country, after making her debut when she was still a teenager. The Keflavík native is arguably the face of a team that is hoping to make history by qualifying for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

Despite a disappointing outing at the Euros last year, where they finished bottom of Group A, Jónsdóttir was enthused by the progress her nation has made in recent times.

“I’m always really happy to be a part of the national team,” she said. “I think a few years ago we’d be happy to qualify for the Euros, and [in 2025] we really wanted big things. We were not happy with the outcome.

“We really want to qualify for the World Cup. We’ve never done that, so that would be a huge thing for us.”

Iceland's progress comes at a time when women’s football has become one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. Internationally and domestically, it is very much on the rise.

“I think [it] has become so big now and that’s just what we deserve,” Jónsdóttir continued. “Right now, so many girls in Iceland play football and it is just so nice to see.

“You get support from everywhere! I think the generation before me would die for this, to play in this environment right now. They worked so hard for us to get here.”

For now, at least, it is clear that Jónsdóttir is exactly where she needs to be.

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