Iceland braced for Portugal, Ronaldo

  • Post published:June 14, 2016

Euro 2016 action continues on Tuesday as Group F kicks off with Austria taking on Hungary followed by Portugal up against Iceland.

The first match of the day sees Austria play neighbours Hungary. The sides have not faced each other in a competitive fixture since way back in 1934.  Austria will hold a psychological edge over the Hungarians as they have won the last nine fixtures between the sides.

Austria have the additional edge of being at full strength for the tie, whereas Hungary will miss striker Gergo Lovrencsics (knee) for the clash, while Tamas Kadas remains doubtful.

‘I expect the same as we have seen in recent games, especially against Germany and Ivory Coast, from a defensive point of view: we were well-organised and disciplined. And we also have to score. We want to win and we have to score. This is very important for us,’ Hungary coach Bernd Storck told Uefa.

Austria coach Marcel Koller, meanwhile, added: ‘We’ve had a great preparation period and I think it’s time to finally get started. We hope to really be able to play as we want; of course there will be a few nerves but we hope we can quickly find our best playing style.’

Austria’s fans will be hoping that Bayern Munich star David Alaba is in top form as they look to progress to the next phase of the competition.

The match takes place at the Matmut Atlantique. Kick-off is at 18:00.

In the second and final match of the day, Portugal take on Iceland in what will be the third ever match between the two sides. Both previous clashes came back in the qualifying round for Euro 2012, Portugal claimed victory on both occasions.

Ricardo Quaresma is a slight doubt for the Portuguese, while Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is set to equal Luis Figo’s appearance record for the national side.

Iceland, who are making their tournament debut, have no injury worries as the side becomes the smallest nation to ever feature in the European Championships.  The country’s population estimated at just 330, 000.

‘The players can’t wait to get started,’ admitted Portugal coach Fernando Santos.

‘It goes without saying that we want to have a good Euro and, in order to achieve that, our aim is still the same. We go into every match to win.’

‘Everyone knows Ronaldo is one of the best players in the world. It’s about playing against the whole team but of course we will try to close him down.’ added Iceland coach Lars Lagerback

The game will be played at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. The match kicks of at 21:00.