"As you can see, it's still sunny" - Cristiano Ronaldo admits it was difficult to play in Iceland after scoring last-gasp winner for Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo expressed his delight at Portugal beating Iceland 1-0 in the 2024 European Championship qualifiers on Tuesday (June 20) despite the conditions in Reykjavik being difficult.

Portugal edged closer to qualifying for the 2024 UEFA European Championship with a narrow win at Laugardalsvollur. They sit atop Group J of the qualifiers with 12 points, having won each of their 12 games so far.

Ronaldo, 38, made history in the game as he became the first men's player to make 200 international appearances and received a Guinness World Record award. He marked the occasion by netting the winner for Selecao in the 89th minute, thus taking his goalscoring tally for the national team to 123.

The Al-Nassr superstar later admitted that the conditions in Reykjavik, where the sun does not set until midnight, made life difficult for Portugal. He added that traveling to Iceland after playing Bosnia and Herzegovina in Lisbon three days ago also did not help their cause.

"We win qualifiers like that, fighting, and winning with a goal in the 89th minute is even more special," Ronaldo was quoted as saying by Portuguese daily Record.

"The match against Bosnia was three days before, and the trip and the jet lag always influence. As you can see, it's still sunny, even with a blindfold on, there's always light. The team did well and that's the most important thing."

It's worth noting that Cristiano Ronaldo has bagged five goals in four games in the European Championship qualifiers. Apart from netting the winner against Iceland, the superstar grabbed braces in Portugal's 4-0 and 6-0 victories over Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, respectively, in March. Only Belgium's Romelu Lukaku and Denmark's Rasmus Hojlund (six each) scored more times than the Selecao captain in the competition.

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Portugal icon Cristiano Ronaldo's performance against Iceland in numbers

Cristiano Ronaldo, who has started each of Portugal's four games under Roberto Martinez, played alongside Rafael Leao in a two-man frontline against Iceland. Despite scoring the winner, he had a comparatively quieter game, with five of Selecao's starters earning more ratings than him (7.1) on Sofascore. Apart from the goal, the forward had one shot off target and one shot blocked.

The former Real Madrid superstar had 36 touches but conceded possession 14 times. He completed 14 passes, including one key pass, with 67% accuracy. It's worth noting that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner did not attempt a single dribble despite playing the full 90 minutes.

Cristiano Ronaldo won two of the eight duels he competed in but was not involved in any aerial duel. He also did not make any significant contribution in defense. The Al-Nassr superstar, meanwhile, was dribbled past once.