Iceland have taken more than half a century to reach the finals of the continent's showpiece event, and their supporters, many sporting Viking horns and clad in royal blue team shirts, are determined to enjoy the occasion.
"There have not been so many Vikings in France since the seventh century, so nobody knows what will happen!" said Olaf Tryggvason, a fan from Reykjavik who was wearing horns and blue and red face paint.
Most neutral observers give Iceland little chance against a pedigree Portugal side featuring the great Cristiano Ronaldo. But there is more to Tuesday's game than the score, Tryggvason reflected as he downed a mid-morning beer at a terrace cafe.
"Being here is the victory. The result doesn't matter. We are here to have fun and enjoy the moment," he said.
The nation of just 330,000 people, coached by Swede Lars Lagerback, sprang a series of surprises in qualifying for the finals, and the fans hope for more to shout about as they contest Group F with Austria and Hungary as well as Portugal.
"We beat Holland twice, we beat the Czechs, we beat Turkey -- why not Portugal?" said Jon Arason, 56, from Keflavik.
His match prediction? "We're going to take Ronaldo out after 10 minutes, so we will beat them 2-1."
In a tournament whose opening days were scarred by hooligan violence, the Icelanders strike a refreshingly wholesome note.
Even their supporters' chant seems a cut above the earthy lyrics of their rivals, though it is not exactly snappy.
It seems to go on for about half a minute and translates, in part, as: "Aron Gunnarsson, he is our captain, he controls the midfield like a king."
Hopes are chiefly pinned on Gunnarsson, attacking midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson and striker Eidur Gudjohnsen, 37, formerly of Chelsea and Barcelona.
"There's always magic in his feet," explains Reykjavik fan Brynjar Bjarnason, known to his friends as Binnz.
The romance of Iceland's soccer adventure has drawn supporters to France from even further afield.
"Americans always love a good underdog story," said Johanna Mylet from Philadelphia, in town with her partner Brian Teuton who was based in Iceland with the U.S. air force for two years in the 1990s.
Teuton, 50, was sporting a number 17 shirt with Gunarsson's name. So was he an expert on the Iceland squad?
"Unfortunately, no," he said. "I had to get on the Internet to find the players so I could get a number and a name."
(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Ken Ferris)
