Iceland celebrated holding Portugal to a 1-1 draw in their first ever major finals appearance on Tuesday, frustrating their illustrious opponents to claim a memorable opening point in UEFA EURO 2016 Group F.
The final game of matchday one was a big occasion for both teams, but especially for Iceland, and the debutants began with a spring in their step, almost taking the lead in the third minute when Rui Patrício was forced to save from Gylfi Sigurdsson – and to repeat the feat from the rebound as Sigurdsson tried again.
Portugal’s qualities on the ball soon started to tell, however, and Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldórsson pulled out an incredible save with his legs as Nani headed goalwards from a Cristiano Ronaldo cross.
Winning a joint-record 127th cap for Portugal, the provider on that occasion then mistimed his swing at a Pepe pass from deep, but a goal was coming – and Nani delivered it just after the half-hour, turning in at the near post following slick interplay between André Gomes and Vieirinha. It was a landmark goal, the 600th in EURO finals history.
Game over? Far from it. Given spirited backing by their fans, Iceland levelled within five minutes of the restart, an unmarked Birkir Bjarnason left free to volley in from Johann Gudmundsson’s cross.
Portugal responded with the crisper passing and better chances, Nani flicking a header wide and Halldórsson denying Ronaldo, but Iceland were not about to let their efforts go unrewarded.
An excited Heimir Hallgrímsson, Iceland joint coach, said after the match: “We feel good. We knew how strong Portugal are. They had the ball much more and it’s really difficult to play against them. They have one of the best teams here and will probably go far, but our defending was fantastic. We were really well organised and worked hard. Apart from one or two situations, we were focused. It’s hard to single anyone out – it was a team effort and we can go into the next game more relaxed.
“We knew that we wanted to play long balls against them and knew we would usually win the first ball. At half-time, we said we didn’t win the second ball enough, and we lost the ball too quickly. We had to be cleverer and move the team up the pitch more.”
