Christian Rolando-led
Portugal opens their Euro 2016 campaign
on Tuesday eager to avoid slipping up
against minnows Iceland and aiming to emulate their run to the European
Championship semi-finals four years ago.
Christian Rolando-led Portugal opens their Euro 2016 campaign on Tuesday eager
to avoid slipping up against minnows Iceland and aiming to emulate their run to the European
Championship semi-finals four years ago.
Portugal lost to eventual winners Spain on
penalties in the semi-finals of Euro 2012 and have arrived in France determined
to win Group F and book their place in the knock-out stages.
First, they must negotiate their way past surprise-package
Iceland, who beat the Netherlands home and away in qualifying as the Dutch
failed to reach Euro 2016.
The tiny North Atlantic island nation of
330,000 people is making their debut at a major tournament and is the smallest
country by population ever to feature at a European Championship.
Former Chelsea and Barcelona forward Eider Johnston, 37, has come out of retirement to be part of the Icelandic squad.
Now plying his trade in Norway with Molded,
the veteran said it will be a "dream come true" when Iceland face
Portugal, who trounced Estonia 7-0 in a warm-up game last Wednesday.
Rolando netted twice before coming off at
half-time and Iceland`s Swedish co-manager Lars Lager back said his side must
ensure a quiet night for Real Madrid`s superstar forward.
"I saw him play for 45 minutes against
Estonia. I am not sure he was really on
holiday before but he recharged his batteries, both physically and
mentally," said Lager back.
"You can expect the best from him -- but
not for us."
Portugal won their qualifying group by
bouncing back from a shock 1-0 defeat to Albania in their opening game to win
all of their remaining matches and top their group.
Now winger Verona says the star-studded
Portugal squad need to show again what
they can do on the European stage.
"Everyone knows our objective is to win
Euro 2016, but we have to go step by step," said Wolfs burg`s Verona.
"The players know what they have to do:
beat Iceland, then Austria, then Hungary. We are
aware our qualities, and we have to show this on the pitch."
The 30-year-old says Portugal must justify
their tag as group favorites.
"We played very well in the build-up, and we know that people consider us
the favorites in the group, but we have to show that we are better than the
other teams," he said.
First up, Portugal needs to subdue a
resilient Iceland in Saint Nettie.
The current team`s rise is the result of an
ambitious plan, which Iceland`s football association (SKI) started 15 years
ago, to build over 150 small artificial indoor areas
on the island.
It ensured football could be played without
interruption through the long Icelandic winter and saw the junior side dubbed
the `indoor kids` in qualifying for the 2011 European U-21 finals.
The Icelandic team has a strong team spirit.
"The primary
key is the mentality of the Iceland players," said CF Basel midfielder Bikini Jonson.
"We are unbreakable working; we do
not give up.
"Many of us have been together for ten years,
started together in the U-1st."
Iceland warmed up for the Euro with a 4-0
trouncing of minnows Lichtenstein last Monday.
Real Societal striker Alfred Finnbogadottir is
coming off the back of a successful loan spell at Augsburg where he scored
seven goals in 14 German league games.
Moreover, Iceland`s captain and midfield general, Cardiff City`s Aron Unison,
is raring to go.
"I`be done some extra work, which was
something I lacked in our warm-up games, but my form is in a right place,
and I am just looking forward to the match," said the 27-year-old.