- Portugal beat Iceland 2-0 on Sunday evening to end their UEFA European Championship qualification with a 100% record
- Portugal are yet to lose a match this year since appointing Roberto Martinez as head coach following the exit of Fernando Santos
Portugal beat Iceland 2-0 on Sunday evening to end their UEFA European Championship qualification with a 100% record. The Selecao have ended their campaign as the top team on Group J with a perfect 30 points and nine clean sheets from ten games.
Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring for Portugal against Iceland last night before substitute Ricardo Horta doubled the lead in the second half. Iceland had a late rally, and hit the crossbar, but this was a comfortable evening’s work for the hosts.
Portugal made it ten wins in ten matches in the 2024 European Championship qualifiers after a 2-0 win over Iceland at Estadio Jose Alvalade. Photo/ ESPN.
Portugal are yet to lose a match this year since appointing Roberto Martinez as head coach in January following the exit of Fernando Santos. Following their impressive performance at EURO qualifiers, the Selecao will surely be among the favourites at the tournament in Germany next summer.
How Portugal Beat Iceland
With participation at next year’s Euros already secured for Portugal and no hope of qualification for the visitors, there were very little on line ahead of the clash in Lisbon. However, Roberto Martinez wanted to end the campaign in style and had his best players in the starting eleven, including Cristiano Ronaldo who has been in red-hot form this season.
Otavio came close to opening the scoring for the hosts early in the game but his mishit cross looped over Iceland’s goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson. Roberto Martinez’s side continued to cause probe afterwards, with Joao Felix’s effort hitting the post.
In a game which was dominated by the hosts, Iceland’s resistance was eventually broken in then 37th minute when Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring. Iceland’s defence let the Manchester United captain afford enough space to pick his spot before releasing a superb strike.
Fernandes’ goal was Portugal’s eleventh shot of the half and they kept attacking afterwards as Iceland struggled to defence. Whereas the Selecao didn’t find another goal before the break, the pattern of play continued after the restart.
Portugal had racked up 20 shots before the hour mark, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Bernardo Silva almost doubling the lead. The hosts eventually increased their lead to 2-0 in the 66th minute through Ricardo Horta, who had been on the pitch for barely four minutes.
The 29-year-old, who replaced Bernardo Silva, took full advantage of a goalkeeping error after Hakon Valdimarsson punched efforts from Joao Felix and Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite being 2-0 up, Portugal continued to attack but were unlucky as the game ended with the same margin. The visitors came close to pulling one back in stoppage time but hit the crossbar.
Portugal beat Iceland 2-0 on Sunday evening. Photo/ Eurosport.
Iceland had conceded at least three goals in three of their last four UEFA European Championship qualification away games, so restraining Portugal to just two goals was quite impressive.
Iceland have finished fourth on Group J with 10 points, 20 behind leaders Portugal. They will now turn their focus to next year’s play-offs, thanks to their UEFA Nations League exploits.
Portuguese football supporters couldn’t have asked for a better campaign than this one. The Selecao created history by winning every match in the qualifiers and conceding just two goals. They also recorded their biggest win in the 9-0 victory over Luxembourg.
Roberto Martinez has given game time to 31 players and handed debuts to players such as Ruben Neves, Joao Mario, Jose Sa and Toti Gomes. The wealth of talent at his disposal is amazing but he’s done well managing top players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Cancelo and Bruno Fernandes, among others.
Bruno Fernandes is the only player to feature in all the ten victories for Portugal and has scored six goals while registering seven assists.
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