ST ETIENNE: There could not be more different teams than Portugal and Iceland.

A well-established European football power, Portugal are relying heavily on the prowess of Real Madrid star striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who hopes to take advantage of the competition to show the world how good he is.

Iceland, on the other hand, qualified for the first time and have no star player in their squad apart from the ageing ex-Barcelona and Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen who has come out of retirement to be part of the team.

Now plying his trade in Norway with Molde, the 37-year-old said it will be a “dream come true” when Iceland face Portugal, who trounced Estonia 7-0 in a warm-up game last Wednesday, in the Group ‘F’ match on Tuesday.

Following Real’s latest Champions League triumph, Ronaldo netted twice before coming off at half-time against Estonia and Iceland’s Swedish co-manager Lars Lagerback said his side must ensure a quiet night for the superstar forward.

“I saw him play for 45 minutes against Estonia. I’m not sure he was really on holiday before but he recharged his batteries, both phy­s­ically and mentally,” said Lagerback. “You can expect the best from him — but not against us.”

The win against Estonia boosted confidence within the Portuguese ranks, but keeping a low profile will be key to progress from a group also featuring Austria and Hungary, said defender Cedric Soares.

“We know it will be a difficult game [against Iceland]. They have a good, solid defence and you don’t win 0-0,” Soares said. “We looked good versus Estonia and we need to continue in that vein.”

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2016