Heimir Hallgrímsson, Iceland joint coachWe feel good. We knew how strong Portugal are. They had the ball much more and it's really difficult to play against them. They have one of the best teams here and will probably go far, but our defending was fantastic. We were really well organised and worked hard. Apart from one or two situations, we were focused. It's hard to single anyone out – it was a team effort and we can go into the next game more relaxed.We knew that we wanted to play long balls against them and knew we would usually win the first ball. At half-time,
Football Update
The lowdown on Albania’s Elseid Hysaj
Name: Elseid HysajClub: NapoliPosition: DefenderNationality: AlbanianDate of birth: 2 February 1994Preferred foot: rightHeight: 182cmThey say ..."He's a fantastic defender who can play on the right or the left. He is very dynamic and has great technical ability."Albania coach Gianni De Biasi Background ...Born in Shkoder, close to the border with Montenegro, Hysaj was brought up by his mother and grandparen...
Sweden: The most in-form strike pairing at EURO
Marcus Berg got the nod ahead of John Guidetti to partner Zlatan Ibrahimović in the Sweden attack to face Republic of Ireland. The stats from the season just gone make it easy to see why. UEFA.com delved deep into the 2015/16 campaign to discover which scoring duo from the UEFA EURO 2016 contenders scored the most league goals combined. Here's what we found ...2015/16 league goalsSwedenZlatan Ibrahimović (Paris Saint-Germain): 38Marcus Berg (Panathinaikos): 15TOTAL: 53 PolandRobert Lewandowski (Baye...
Kroos happy to play role of provider for Germany
Toni Kroos, man of the matchMy role was to bring our game out from the back. I want to get our most dangerous players on the ball in good positions and it worked well tonight. Hopefully I'll be able to continue in that vein.All the Real Madrid players came into this tournament in great spirits after winning the Champions League. It's great for me to have been able to keep that winning feeling tonight but we're under no illusions – it was only the first game. We need to be a bit cleverer if we want to win this tournament but I'm
Preview: Germany v Ukraine
World champions Germany tackle 2012 co-hosts Ukraine in Group CGermany have yet to lose a competitive game to Ukraine (W2 D2)The three-time winners are contesting their 12th consecutive EURO finalsJoachim Löw's men were beaten twice in a testing qualifying campaignUkraine saw off Slovenia in the play-offs to reach their second EUROPossible line-upsGermany: Neuer; Höwedes, Mustafi, Boateng, Hector; Kroos, Khedira; Müller, Özil, Draxler; Gomez.Out: Hummels (calf)
Morocco make World Cup history
Although Morocco were not the first African country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup™ – North African rivals Egypt have that honour – the Atlas Lions are this summer celebrating their own place in the record books. It was 30 years ago today that the Moroccans beat Portugal 3-1 to become the first African side to advance to the knockout stage of the Mundial. FIFA.com looks back at one of the most memorable stories from Mexico 1986.Catching the world's attention When the Atlas Lions arrived in Mexico they did so with a formidable squad. Two years earlier they had participated at the Olympic Football Tournament in Los Angeles...
UEFA EURO 2016 given colourful lift-off
Can-can dancers, a French Air Force flyover, a pop-up Eiffel Tower, cutting edge music and a mosaic of all 24 competing teams ... UEFA EURO 2016 was given an absorbing lift-off at Stade de France on Friday night.There had been so much colour, such a carnival atmosphere inside and outside the stadium in the hours leading up to the kick-off, that creative director Julie Brassard's show was in danger of playing second fiddle. However, it certainly didn't disappoint and a month-long festival of football was ushered in with a beautifully understated, cultural introduction celebrating all things French ... and also