That capped a rollicking day for Ronaldo, who lost his composure hours before the match when he responded to a TV reporter’s question by grabbing his microphone and apparently tossing it into a nearby lake.
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Cristiano Ronaldo obliged with a strong performance as the Real Madrid man set two Euros records, first for appearances and then as the only player to score in four different editions of the continental competition.
Ronaldo scored twice and Portugal came from behind three times to earn a 3-3 draw against Hungary on Wednesday, a result that allowed Fernando Santos’s side to progress from Group F as one of the four best third-placed sides.
The second half only got better as Balaza Dzsydsak score Hungary’s second goal but by the 50th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo broke his Euro goal scoring drought by scoring in the 50th minute.
Having drawn its previous two matches at Euro 2016, the victory secured Iceland second place in Group F behind Hungary with five points.
Iceland, the smallest nation to appear at a major finals, will play England in the last 16 in Nice after finishing second in the group, behind Hungary but above Portugal, following a thrilling 3-3 draw in Lyon.
But the 37-year-old Gera belted a low left-footed drive into the bottom-right corner which gave Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio no chance on 19 minutes. More positively Ronaldo added: “We’re facing a very good team and the odds are 50-50. I’m really moved, what can you say after a game like this?”
The former Iceland global player added: ‘Arnor Ingvi Traustason secured us the first European Championship victory.
“We had a very good history in the 1950s and 60s but this is a bygone era and I want to talk about this team”. We know their strengths. Of course, we conceded three goals but two of them were a little bit unlucky but this is football.
Portugal will face Croatia on Saturday in the Round of 16.
Portugal could not see out the win in Ronaldo’s record-breaking 17th European Championship outing, which was a source of disappointment for the 31-year-old.
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“The players have huge expectations, because we want to reach the final and win it”. “But we will look them in the eyes when we face them”. “Personally I was happy as the team was in dire straits – three times we had to chase down the score and three times we came back”, Ronaldo was quoted as saying by uefa.com on Thursday.
