Ronaldo's jibe sparks uproar

Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo came under fire Wednesday for describing Iceland as having a "small mentality" after the north Atlantic Islanders held Group F favourites Portugal to a 1-1 draw.

A superb finish by Nani gave Portugal the lead before Iceland's industrious midfielder Birkir Bjarnason volleyed the equaliser.

But Ronaldo stormed off after the final whistle, clearly frustrated by his own failure in front of goal, while Iceland scored by converting one of only four chances.

"It was difficult over the 90 minutes, because they scored one goal and that was after they had put every player behind the ball," fumed Ronaldo.

"They put the bus in the net. We tried our best; we created many chances and kept the ball.

"Iceland didn't try anything, they just defend, defend, defend, they had two chances and scored a goal, it was a lucky night for them.

“We're frustrated, they didn't try and play. It's why I think they will do nothing here. In my opinion, it's a small mentality. It's difficult when Portugal tries to win the game and the other team doesn't."

Icelandic midfielder Kari Arnason accused Ronaldo of lacking grace -- and compared him unfavourably with his rival Lionel Messi.

"Ronaldo says we parked the bus? He's just a sore loser. He didn't want to lose the game. What does he expect? For us to play like Barcelona against him?

“He fannies about and dives around. We didn't pay any extra attention to him. It just makes it sweeter that he is a bad loser.” Arnason said.

"He's a fantastic footballer, but he's not a gracious human being and the thing is we almost nicked the win, so him saying we weren't going for the win contradicts that," Arnason added.

"His comments are the reason why Messi is always going to be one step ahead of him."

Former Iceland international Hermann Hreidarsson said Ronaldo was a "sore loser" who had been "beaten up" by Iceland's hard-working team.

“It's petty in a way. He's a sore loser obviously," Hreidarsson told the BBC.

“He thought he could have goals handed to him on a plate. If he would have worked as hard as every Icelandic player, he wouldn't have had to say anything because I'm sure he would have got his rewards."