The Real Madrid ace had ten shots on goal in Saint Etienne but failed to become the first man to score in four European Championships as he was frustrated by Iceland’s dogged defence and a great display from Halldorsson.
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Minnows Iceland denied Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo on his record-equalling 127th global appearance to claim a 1-1 in their first ever major finals match at Euro 2016 on Tuesday.
“Iceland didn’t try anything”.
The only Iceland player able to sympathise with Ronaldo was former Chelsea and Barcelona star Eidur Gudjohnsen, who has met his fair share of frustrating opponents during a lengthy career at the highest level. Portugal dominated the game, but Iceland snatched a point by converting one of their few scoring chances into an all-important goal.
He said: “On the one hand I’m sad because we wanted to win but on the other I’m pleased to see that the team was really committed. This, in my opinion, shows a small mentality and they are not going to do anything in the competition”.
And Stieber triggered delirious celebrations when he raced from just inside the Austria half to beat Robert Almer three minutes from time with a sublime chip.
“We are a small island in the Atlantic Ocean and we got a draw against them”.
On the comments of Ronaldo, Arnason, now 33, said: ‘It makes it even sweeter when he’s a sore loser like that.
If you see Spain and France, they are the strongest teams in the tournament and even they had a hard time to win their first game. “We didn’t pay any extra attention to him”.
“He can do what he wants, we’re just happy with the point”, added Iceland’s co-coach Heimir Hallgrimsson.
“Obviously, we aren’t going to create as many chances as a talented team like Portugal but we try to win every game and we do it in our own way”.
The lunchtime after the night before, he received the backlash from an Iceland team seemingly unafraid of the star on the pitch and even less cowed by him off it.
Portugal, who reached the semi-finals of Euro 2012 before losing to Spain on penalties, were pre-tournament favourites to finish top of Group F. “It’s better not to lose the first game”, he said.
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“We’re 100 percent confident we’ll win our next game”, he said.
