Frustrated Cristiano Ronaldo claims Iceland have ‘small mentality’

Cristiano Ronaldo was furious at the defensive tactics of Iceland, the smallest country at the tournament, after Tuesday’s Group F clash.

“He’s a fantastic footballer, but he’s not a gracious human being and the thing is we nearly nicked the win, so him saying we weren’t going for the win contradicts that”, said midfielder Kari Arnason.

“They scored a goal, they created two chances in the 90 minutes but otherwise they got every player behind the ball”. He said Iceland “put the bus in the net”.

Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has reach yet another milestone for his national team, despite the disappointing draw against Iceland in their opening game of the European Championship.

“It was hard over the 90 minutes, because they scored one goal and that was after they had put every player behind the ball”, fumed Ronaldo.

“Iceland did not try nothing, they just defend, defend, defend and play the counterattack”, said Ronaldo, who left the field without shaking the hand of most Iceland players.

Portugal dominated the game, but Iceland snatched a point by converting one of their few scoring chances into an all-important goal. Then there was this move. For us to play like Barcelona against him?

They also set a new, very odd, surname-based record. But it should have come as no surprise to Portugal because it was the same game plan – defend in numbers and look for the quick long ball when in possession – that helped Iceland qualify. “I think we’ve already made history by being here and I think today we showed exactly why”. “There’s no use crying over spilled milk”.

“He can do what he wants, we’re just happy with the point”, added Iceland’s co-coach Heimir Hallgrimsson.

But being part of the national team’s first appearance on worldwide football’s big stage ranks right up there with those achievements.

“It was so fantastic to play here because it was like our home”, Hallgrimsson said.

“The Iceland fans were fantastic, unbelievable, it was just like playing at home”.

“It’s down to teamwork”.

“We had enough chances, but we couldn’t score another one”, said Nani. It has to be a team effort, closing the areas.

Asked about Ronaldo’s post-match reaction, Santos played down reports the 31-year-old had failed to acknowledge the opposition.