Iceland defender Kari Arnason has hit back at Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese international’s derogatory comments on Tuesday.
Ronaldo was left frustrated after the 1-1 draw between the two sides in Saint-Etienne on Tuesday night, and criticised the Icelandic players for their celebrations after the game and their ‘small mentality’.
That unsurprisingly didn’t sit well with many people who have hit out at the Real Madrid star for being petulant and immature, with Arnason now adding his opinion to the matter.
“He’s a fantastic footballer but he’s not a gracious human being,” the Malmo ace told reporters. “The thing is we almost nicked the win so him saying we weren’t going for the win contradicts that. We got a draw and could have nicked it.
“Obviously we’re not going to create as much chances as a fantastic team like Portugal but his comments are the reason why Messi is always going to be one step ahead of him. You wouldn’t expect Messi to say that. It shows we got under his skin. It was lovely to hear that.
“It makes it even sweeter when he’s a sore loser like that. He can say whatever he wants. He didn’t really get a chance. He got one and he couldn’t put it away. What can I say? Sore loser. Tough sh*t. What does he expect – for us to play like Barcelona against him? He fannies about and dives around.”
Arnason enjoyed a much better night against Ronaldo compared to when they met at club level in the Champions League earlier this season, with the La Liga giants securing a 8-0 win in Sweden.
The 30-year-old scored four goals on that occasion, and despite having a couple of glorious opportunities to get on the scoresheet on Tuesday, he was unable to do so as his side were forced to settle for a draw.
Coupled with Hungary’s win over Austria earlier in the day, it means that they top Group F after the first round of fixtures, with Iceland taking on the group-leaders on Saturday, while Portugal face Austria hoping to pick up their first win of the tournament and put the disappointment of their opening game behind them.