It will be hard but we will try to be as creative as possible and I think we can win this match. Portugal is placed in a comparatively easy group (F) alongside Austria, Hungary and Iceland.
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The final group in this year’s European Championships features a side inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal as well as another potential dark horse for the competition in Austria. Renato Sanches and Joao Mario will be looking to impress in their first major tournament with the national side, with the latter expected to shine after stellar performances for Sporting Lisbon this season.
Portugal were, however, not overly prolific in front of goal, with 11 goals netted in their eight matches.
Winger Ricardo Quaresma and forward Cristiano Ronaldo have raised the bar for Portugal in the European tournament. “We closed him down pretty well when I played against him with Sweden so I hope we can do the same now”.
It will be the first time that the two nations have faced each other at a major global tournament and the Portugal pair will take to the pitch knowing that the opposition coach has their number. Making their feat all the more impressive is that they finished above European giants such as Turkey and the Netherlands.
WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME: Many Icelandic fans will be at Reform Social & Grill at the Lakes in Dubai. Later they kept on improving under new boss Fernando Santos and won all of their remaining seven qualifying fixtures defeating teams like Denmark, Serbia and eventually topped their group.
It was nearly certainly with that end in mind that coach Lars Lagerback called for harsher action on players who attempt to con referees today. The 37-year old’s experience will come in handy when he teams up with Gylfi Sigurdsson.
“But depending on the first result then we know how important it is coming to the second and the third”.
However, the current Austrian side is arguably the strongest in their history, backed by the skills of players like top-scorer Marc Janko, Bayern Munich’s David Alaba and Stoke City’s Marko Arnautović. Marko Arnautovic, Stoke City’s gifted playmaker, got three in the qualifiers, his ability to create chances out of nothing likely also to be key to Burschen’s hopes.
While team spirit is essential for Iceland, Ronaldo epitomizes the individualization of football. But they still managed to top the group with 21 points.
Now ranked 20th by FIFA, the Hungarians were one of world football’s powerhouses between the 1930’s and the 1960’s. They have participated in the tournament six times previously and reached the quarter-finals twice, semi-finals thrice and the final once.
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Portugal forward Eder agreed with his coach that the team’s goal is to win the entire tournament.
