Portugal, dominant but ineffective for so long, had to wait until the last moments to knock themselves out of the Czech Republic and win 2-1 on Tuesday in Leipzig, in their first appearance at Euro 2024.
Portugal were the last big names to enter the competition in Germany, and even if France or England also struggled to win, they are undoubtedly the ones who struggled the most to win.
It was indeed necessary to wait until the end of stoppage time and score a goal from a substitute for the “Seleção” to snatch three points from the brave, but very limited, Czechs.
The winning goal was scored by young Francisco Conceicao, son of former great player and current coach Sergio Conceicao, after a pass from Pedro Neto, the two players who had just entered the field (90+2).
Shortly before, Portugal already thought they had lost the game, but Diogo Jota's goal was disallowed for offside by Cristiano Ronaldo, who headed it against the post (87).
In the end, CR7, who has now taken to the Leipzig pitch and has now participated in a record six Euros, weighed in, but did not score and missed several chances at his disposal. So he will have to wait a little longer to become the top scorer in the European Championship.
Ronaldo is immortal, but we saw on Tuesday that he may still be less attractive than he was in some time.
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Starting as expected, the former Real Madrid striker initially struggled to find his feet, frequently falling on the wet Leipzig pitch, without it particularly bothering the referee.
While the Czechs defended at 11 and 30 metres for almost the entire match, the Portuguese captain had three clear chances in the first half, missing a slight header (8th) and then Jindrich Stanek firing two shots (32nd and 45th minutes).
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In great conditions, but under heavy rain at times, the Portuguese quickly established themselves in the opposition camp and pressed a lot, especially on the left where Rafael Leao had too much waste to do any damage.
For his part, Pepe (41 years old) became the oldest player to play a match in the European Championship, but Portugal sometimes played too much with the pace of their 40-year-old defender.
In the 62nd minute, the Czechs took the opportunity to open the scoring with a beautiful shot from the right by Lukas Provod. Portugal were then punished for their ineptitude in the first place, but also for a bit of slackness, as their dominance lacked intensity.
And while they risked finding themselves in a somewhat uncertain position in Group F, with Turkey, their next opponents on Saturday, making a strong impression, Ronaldo's team-mates were quick to react.
And in the 69th minute they scored again. After a cross from Bernardo Silva and a header from Parisian Nuno Mendes, Stanek clumsily cleared the ball to Ruben Hranak, who scored an own goal.
In the dying moments, Roberto Martinez's men then achieved an important and generally deserved success. Portugal, who describe themselves as ambitious – and we can understand that given the starting line-up and the options on the bench – will undoubtedly have to work harder to go far.
summary
(92) Portugal 2 – Czech Republic 1 | Francisco Conceicao scores in the dying moments of the match to give Portugal the win.
Francisco Conceicao gives Portugal the lead at the end of the match –
(69) Portugal 1 – Czech Republic 1 | Ruben Hranak own goal as Portugal draw.
(62) Portugal 0 – Czech 1 | Czech Republic opened the scoring through Lukas Provod.
Against the run of play, Czech Republic open the scoring against Portugal –
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