Portugal snatches a logical victory against the Czech Republic for its entry into the running

Despite a well-established Czech block, Cristiano Ronaldo’s partners managed to reverse the score (2-1) on Tuesday evening.

The Lusitanian armada has righted the situation. Superior against a disciplined Czech Republic team, Portugal won for its debut in this Euro (2-1), Tuesday June 18, in the rain in Leipzig. Roberto Martinez’s men, however, thought they were being trapped when Lukas Provod opened the scoring for the Czechs against the run of play with a shot from the edge of the area (62nd).

Long kept in check by goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek, author of several decisive saves, the Portuguese finally managed to come back thanks to an own goal from Robin Hranac (69th). Then to win thanks to the young Francisco Conceiçao, opportunist in stoppage time (90th + 2). A delivery at the very end of the game rewarded the numerous attacks of an ultra-dominant Seleçao (19 shots, 70% possession), while the incoming Diogo Jota had just been denied a goal for a slight offside (87th) .

Before that, the plan of the Czech Republic – quarter-finalist of the last edition – had nevertheless shown itself to be effective, if not ambitious. Portugal came up against a tightly grouped defensive block for more than an hour, with five or even six opposing players to resist Rafael Leao’s attempts to get around them.

While his partners multiplied the strikes from afar, the Milanese came within a few centimeters of taking Ivan Hasek’s selection from behind on one of his rare forays into the Czech camp (26th). When Cristiano Ronaldo was defeated by Jindrich Stanek (31st, 45th, 52nd, 62nd), notably on a brilliant serve of which only Bruno Fernandes has the secret.

Very active in the game but silent this Tuesday, the Al-Nassr striker will nevertheless be able to satisfy himself with a longevity record. If his teammate Pepe became the oldest player to play in a Euro at 41 years and 113 days, Cristiano Ronaldo is now the only man to have played in six different editions of the competition (since 2004). With this result snatched, the Portuguese are first in group F tied with Turkey, whom they will challenge on Saturday (at 6 p.m.) to get a glimpse of the round of 16. There is no doubt that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner will want to prove that he has the sights set.