Football: Euro debutants Iceland hold Portugal to draw

Iceland's Alfred Finnbogason shoots at goal during a match against Portugal at Stade Geoffroy...
Iceland's Alfred Finnbogason shoots at goal during a match against Portugal at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne, France. Photo by Reuters

Rank outsiders Iceland fought back to salvage a memorable 1-1 draw with Portugal as they made their major tournament debut at Euro 2016.

Birkir Bjarnason took advantage of slack defending by the Group F favourites to sweep the ball home for Iceland from six metres in the 50th minute.

Nani had given Portugal the lead by turning in an Andre Gomes pass following an incisive move down the right in the 31st minute.

Portugal dominated the game as expected but Iceland, backed by a noisy army of blue-clad fans, battled to the end to make it an unhappy evening for Cristiano Ronaldo as he made a record-equalling 127th appearance for his country.

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