Elías Rafn Ólafsson

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Elías Rafn.

Elías Rafn Ólafsson

Personal information
Full name	Elías Rafn Ólafsson
Date of birth	(2000-03-11) 11 March 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth	Reykjavík, Iceland
Height	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Midtjylland
Number	16
Youth career
2005−2012	Breiðablik
2012−2013	Völsungur
2013−2018	Breiðablik
2018−2019	Midtjylland
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2018	Breiðablik	0	(0)
2017	→ FH (loan)	0	(0)
2018−	Midtjylland	38	(0)
2019−2020	→ Aarhus Fremad (loan)	20	(0)
2020−2021	→ Fredericia (loan)	26	(0)
2023−2024	→ Mafra (loan)	32	(0)
International career^‡
2016	Iceland U16	3	(0)
2018	Iceland U19	1	(0)
2019–2021	Iceland U21	7	(0)
2021–	Iceland	6	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 November 2023

Elías Rafn Ólafsson (born 11 March 2000) is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland.[1][2][3]

Early life

Elías started playing football at the age of five.[4] He also played both handball and volleyball in his youth and played two games for the Iceland national volleyball team in 2015.[5] He subsequently quit both sports to fully focus on football.[4]

Club career

Elías came through the youth academy of Breiðablik. In July 2018, he was sold to reigning Danish champions Midtjylland.[6][7] In 2019, he was loaned to Aarhus Fremad[8] where he appeared in 20 games.[9] In August 2020, he was loaned to Fredericia.[10] In December 2020, he signed a 5-year contract extension with Midtjylland.[11][12] In September 2021, he was named the Danish Superliga Player of the Month.[13]

On 18 July 2023 it was confirmed, that Ólafsson had joined Liga Portugal 2 club Mafra on a season-long loan deal.[14] After the loan spell Ólafsson returned to Midtjylland.[15]

International career

Elías was selected to the Icelandic national team ahead of its friendly games against Canada and El Salvador in January 2020. He was an unused substitute in both games.[16] In October 2020, Elías was diagnosed with COVID-19, following Iceland's U-21 2–0 win over Luxembourg U-21.[16] In March 2021, he was selected to the Icelandic U-21 team ahead of its games in the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[17]

He made his debut for the senior Iceland national football team on 8 October 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Armenia.[18]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 12 December 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Breiðablik	2017	Úrvalsdeild	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
FH (loan)		Úrvalsdeild	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0
Aarhus Fremad (loan)	2019–20	Danish 2nd Division	20	0	0	0	—		—		20	0
Fredericia (loan)	2020–21	Danish 1st Division	26	0	0	0	—		—		26	0
Midtjylland	2021–22	Danish Superliga	14	0	1	0	—		5[a]	0	20	0
	2022–23	Danish Superliga	8	0	1	0	—		4[b]	0	13	0
	2024–25	Danish Superliga	16	0	0	0	—		11[c]	0	27	0
	Total		38	0	2	0	—		20	0	60	0
Mafra (loan)	2023–24	Liga Portugal 2	32	0	1	0	0	0	—		33	0
Career total			116	0	3	0	0	0	20	0	139	0

1. Three appearances in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Conference League
2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
3. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of matches played on 16 November 2023

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Iceland	2021	4	0
	2023	2	0
Total		6	0

References

1. Hafliði Breiðfjörð (12 August 2020). "Elías Rafn: Gott að finna að þetta er nálægt en maður vill alltaf lengra". Fótbolti.net (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 April 2021.
2. "Næsti landsliðsmarkmaður Íslands?". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 27 October 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
3. Anders Funder (25 October 2019). "Islandsk fyrtårn imponerer overrasket Fremad-træner". Jyllands-Posten (in Danish). Retrieved 4 April 2021.
4. Patrick Viborg Andersen (19 January 2021). "FC Fredericias islandske plankeværk drømmer om Champions League". Koldingavisen.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 3 April 2021.^[permanent dead link‍]
5. Elín Heiður Gunnarsdóttir (27 May 2015). "Tveir sigrar í Færeyjum". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 April 2021.
6. Ívan Guðjón Baldursson (16 July 2018). "Elías Rafn til Midtjylland (Staðfest)". Fótbolti.net (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 April 2021.
7. Sæbjörn Þór Þórbergsson Steinke (27 October 2019). "Elías Rafn fær mikið lof fyrir frammistöðu sína". Fótbolti.net (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 April 2021.
8. Mathias Hansen (21 August 2019). "Netværk sendte islandsk målmand til Aarhus: - Han har ekstreme spidskompetencer". stiften.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 3 April 2021.
9. Anton Ingi Leifsson (7 June 2020). "Elías fær mikið lof: "Getur allt og verður söluvara fyrir Midtjylland"". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 April 2021.
10. Jesper Banke (11 August 2020). "FC Fredericia henter stor målmand i FC Midtjylland". frdb.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 3 April 2021.
11. Anton Ingi Leifsson (19 December 2020). "Elías skrifar undir langan samning við dönsku meistarana". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 April 2021.
12. "FC Midtjylland skriver lang kontrakt med keepertalent". Tipsbladet (in Danish). 19 December 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
13. Hjörtur Leó Guðjónsson (2 October 2021). "Elías Rafn leikmaður mánaðarins í dönsku deildinni". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 31 January 2022.
14. ELÍAS ÓLAFSSON É REFORÇO, cdmafra.com, 18 July 2023
15. ELÍAS RAFN: MÆTTUR AFTUR TIL AÐ VERA AÐALMARKVÖRÐUR, fotbolti.net, 28 June 2024
16. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (16 October 2020). "Elías Rafn með kórónuveiruna". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 April 2021.
17. Hörður Snævar Jónsson (18 March 2021). "KSÍ staðfestir hópinn sem lak út í fyrradag". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). Retrieved 3 April 2021.
18. "Iceland v Armenia game report". FIFA. 8 October 2021.

External links

• Elías Rafn Ólafsson at Soccerway
• Elías Rafn Ólafsson at the Football Association of Iceland (in Icelandic)