PARIS: There could not be more different teams than Portugal and Iceland at the European championships.

A well-established European soccer power, Portugal is 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 has no star player in its squad apart from the aging ex-Barcelona and Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen.

The tiny Nordic island's best player is Gylfi Sigurdsson, the Swansea creative midfielder whose work ethic, and shooting skills are not getting much attention outside of the Premier League.

While team spirit is essential for Iceland, Ronaldo epitomizes the individualization of football. Following Real Madrid's latest Champions League triumph, he missed Portugal's friendly defeat to England at Wembley and only joined his teammates after taking some time off on a yacht with friends.

In France, Ronaldo will be looking to equal Michel Platini's record of nine goals during the finals. Ronaldo has already scored six in 14 European Championship matches.

Quaresma has been challenging Nani for a starting role in Fernando Santos' team recently, scoring twice in Portugal's final friendly game before the tournament, a 7-0 thrashing of Estonia.

The win 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 defense and you don't win 0-0," Soares said. "We looked good versus Estonia and we need to continue in that vein.

We know football goes from game to game and we have to be focused on Iceland. It's a hard task."