Home   >   MOTDs   >   Portugal 1-1 Iceland: Ronaldo misfires as Portugal cede points

Portugal 1-1 Iceland: Ronaldo misfires as Portugal cede points

By on June 14, 2016

Cristiano Ronaldo let Portugal down both on and off the pitch as they drew Iceland 1-1 at Euro 2016.

The referee blew for the free-kick exactly as the clock struck ninety-three minutes.  Iceland had given away a late, clumsy foul to Portugal just within Cristiano Ronaldo range as the island nation desperately tried to keep the score level at the very tail end of the announced three-minutes of stoppage time.

It was a situation in which a younger, more confident Ronaldo might have been able to make the difference for Portugal.  Instead, he struck the free-kick into the wall.  There was, however, to be another twist of fate as the referee whistled for hand-ball in an even more dangerous position roughly twenty-five yards out from goal.  Again Ronaldo stepped up to the ball.

He blasted it into the wall a second time.

Ronaldo endured a frustrating night in France and his air of smug superiority was punctured by Aron Gunnarson’s resolute Iceland side, who kept Portugal’s danger-man off the books to earn a memorable point in their first ever appearance at the European Championships.

Although Iceland only saw twenty-eight percent of the ball and had just four shots compared to Portugal’s twenty-six, they made their chances count.  All four efforts found their way on target, in stark contrast with Ronaldo’s unusual wastefulness.

The thirty-one-year-old had ten shots himself but only one found the target; that one in question being a free header hit straight at the goalkeeper from point-blank range.

Naturally, Ronaldo was frustrated but vented his anger in a most embarrassing manner in the post-match spectacle.  First, he ignored a handshake offer from an Iceland player (after several awkward moments, he dismissively gave it a small slap) then launched a raving character assassination on Iceland to the press.

“We just tried our best to keep the ball all the time but Iceland didn’t try anything, they were just ‘defend, defend, defend’ and playing on the counter-attack. It was a lucky night for them,” whined Ronaldo.

“They scored a goal, they created two chances in the ninety minutes and otherwise they got every player behind the ball.  They put the bus in the net so it’s difficult when one team don’t try but Portugal try and play football and try to win the game.”

“We should have three points but we are OK. I thought they’d won the Euros the way they celebrated at the end, it was unbelievable. When they don’t try to play and just defend, defend, defend this in my opinion shows a small mentality and they are not going to do anything in the competition.”

Ronaldo was quite clearly wrong.  The Euros have had their fare share of ugly moments so far, but Iceland’s victory was one of the most beautiful moments of the tournament.

Nani sent Portugal into the lead in the thirty-first minute with a cool finish from Andre Gomes’s cross, yet Fernando Santos’ men missed a hatful of golden opportunities to expand their lead. Ronaldo crossed into the box for Nani after opening up space down the left with some silky footwork, but Ronaldo’s former Manchester United teammate could only head straight at the goalkeeper.

Ronaldo also whiffed a ten-yard effort from Pepe’s long ball and then volleyed wide.  By and large, he was kept quiet by Iceland’s defense and no other Portugal player stepped up to make the difference.

Birkir Bjarnason volleyed home to bring Iceland level on the other side of the half and the sea of blue in one corner of the stadium began to rumble as the clock ticked down. And Iceland erupted come the final whistle.

Homepage photo credit: Дмитрий Садовников (soccer.ru) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.