SAINT-ETIENNE, France — Cristiano Ronaldo lashed out at Iceland's "small mentality" after the Nordic squad claimed an unlikely point against Portugal in their European Championship debut on Tuesday.
The Real Madrid superstar endured a frustrating evening as he failed on several chances to score in his bid to become the first player with goals in four consecutive Euros. His mood was not helped when Birkir Bjarnason's equalizer canceled out Nani's opener to earn Iceland a 1-1 draw in their maiden appearance at a major championship.
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"We tried hard to win the game, Iceland didn't try anything," Ronaldo said following the Group F match at Stade Geoffroy Guichard.
"They scored a goal, they created two chances in the 90 minutes and otherwise they got every player behind the ball, they put the bus in the net, so it's difficult when one team don't try but Portugal try and play football and try to win the game," he added.
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Ronaldo, Portugal's captain, also criticized his opponent's on-pitch celebrations.
"It was a lucky night for them," he said. "We should have three points but we are OK. I thought they'd won the Euros the way they celebrated at the end. It was unbelievable.
"When they don't try to play and just defend, defend, defend, this in my opinion shows a small mentality and they are not going to do anything in the competition."