(Reuters) -Iceland captain Glodis Perla Viggosdottir was forced off at halftime during their Women's European Championship opener against Finland on Wednesday due to diarrhoea.

After 20 minutes, the Bayern Munich defender had to lie down for treatment, with teammates forming a protective circle around her as she struggled through much of the first half.

"I just had diarrhoea," she told Icelandic media Visir when asked about what happened. "We tried everything to get it under control, but clearly, we didn't succeed."

Finland won the Group A match 1-0 against 10-player Iceland in Thun, Switzerland.

(Reporting by Tommy Lund in GdanskEditing by Christian Radnedge)