Birkir Bjarnason earned Iceland a draw with Portugal

A goal from Birkir Bjaason eaed Iceland a shock 1-1 draw with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal on Tuesday at the European Championship at Saint-Etiee, France, the tiny Scandinavian nation’s first ever match at a major touament.

Iceland was second best most of the Group F game and trailed to a first half strike by Nani. But its players showed resilience throughout, and took advantage of Portugal’s profligacy in front of goal.

Bjaason slotted home the equalizer in the 50th minute with a curled volley at the far post against the run of the play, moments after Ronaldo missed a chance to make it 2-0 when he shot wide.

Nani put Portugal in front with a clinical finish from close range on a day when Ronaldo equaled Luis Figo’s Portugal record of 127 caps - but lacked his usual composure and accuracy.

After a tight start, Portugal won the midfield battle and Nani tued Portugal’s dominance of possession into a goal when he collected a cross from the right by Andre Gomes and steered the ball home at the near post in the 31st minute.

Portugal had wasted many good chances before then, notably in the 22nd minute when Ronaldo found Nani in the box with a precise cross. Nani jumped higher than the Iceland defenders but his powerful header hit the feet of keeper Haes Halldorsson.

Ronaldo sent a header wide and again came close just before Nani’s opener, collecting a 40-meter ball from Pepe over the top - only to fluff his shot.

Playing high up the pitch, Portugal applied the pressure with plenty of movement off the ball and quick passing, forcing Iceland’s midfielders to keep chasing the ball.

The pressure continued immediately after the break, when Ronaldo failed to take advantage of a ball that dropped to his feet, shooting wide while unmarked from the edge of the box.

Soon after that, Portugal was made to pay for Ronaldo’s misses.

On one of Iceland’s few scoring chances, Portugal defender Vieirinha lost track of Bjaason at the far post and the winger volleyed home a cross from Joha Gudmundsson.

The equalizer soon lifted Iceland’s morale and briefly unsettled Portugal.

Ronaldo tried to break the stalemate, leaving Ragnar Sigurdsson on the ground with a succession of his quick dribbles in the 68th minute. But the defender still managed to take the ball away from the Real Madrid star’s feet with a brilliant tackle.

Portugal continued to push forward in search of a wier.

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But Nani’s glanced header from a free kick flew wide, substitute Ricardo Quaresma’s deflected shot 12 minutes from time was parried away by Halldorsson and Ronaldo had a late series of free kicks blocked by the Iceland wall.

Hungary 2, Austria 0 >> Gabor Kiraly set an age record at the European Championship at Bourdeaux, France.

The Hungary goalkeeper became the first 40-year-old player to participate in the continental championship, surpassing the record set by Germany great Lothar Matthaus by almost a year.

Adam Szalai gave Hungary the lead at Stade de Bordeaux with his first goal in 12 appearances. Substitute Zoltan Stieber added the other after Austria was reduced to 10 men when Aleksandar Dragovic was shown a second yellow card.

Kiraly, wearing his trademark gray sweatpants, made some good stops, including a dive to block a shot from Zlatko Junuzovic in the 35th minute. He also smothered a shot from David Alaba in the 10th.

Kiraly is 40 years and 75 days. Matthaus was 39 years and 91 days when Germany played Portugal at Euro 2000.

Szalai scored after playing a one-two with Hungary teammate Laszlo Kleinheisler. He then ran into the box and latched onto the retu pass before scoring under Austria goalkeeper Robert Almer.

“I don’t want to talk about myself. The whole team won,” Szalai said. “Everyone worked together. I think we managed to do everything our manager told us in terms of advice and strategy.”

Austria thought it had equalized moments after the Hungary goal, when Martin Hinteregger put the ball in the back of the net, but it was ruled out for a foul and Dragovic was sent off with a second yellow card.

Stieber made it 2-0 in the 87th, bursting down the right flank from inside his own half and lifting a long ball over the onrushing Almer.

Alaba, a defender who plays for Baye Munich, was at the heart of most of Austria’s attacking moves. He nearly scored in the opening minute but his 25-yard effort hit the bottom of the right post.

“I think we were still the better team, even though that might be shocking,” Alaba said. “Now we just have to forget this and push on.”