Saint-Étienne (France), June 15 (IANS) Portuguese midfielder Nani says his side dominated the game even though they were held to a 1-1 stalemate by Iceland in a Euro 2016 Group F match at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard here.
Nani got the opener in the 31st minute of the contest, but Birkir Bjarnason restored parity for Iceland in the second half. But it were Portugal who had more possession and shots on target.
"We dominated the match, we were superior and played better football," Nani said.
The 29-year-old praised Iceland who were physically strong and troubled Portugal with long balls.
"But Iceland are a tough team, a very physically strong team. The individual battles were very difficult for us. They played long balls which put us in a very difficult position."
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Nani added it was just the beginning of the competition and he is hopeful his side will improve with each passing game.
"However, once we got the ball on the floor and played our football, we proved we were better and had opportunities to score more goals," he said.
"Tonight did not go as expected, but this is just the beginning of the tournament."
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo however, was very upset with how Iceland celebrated after the game, saying that it shows the "small mentality" of an outfit and added they would not go too far in the tourney.
--IANS
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