Down by a goal, he didn’t lose his composure and first equalised, then took the victory in full injury time with his son, Francisco Conceicao. Portugal begins the European Championships with a bang by beating the Czech Republic 2-1 and joins Turkey at the top of group F. A deserved victory for the Portuguese team who have practically always kept control of the match while the Czechs hit the only shot in goal true done in the space of ninety minutes. After Turkey’s victory over Georgia, the second clash of group F between Portugal and the Czech Republic takes place. The Lusitanians coached by coach Roberto Martinez won the continental event in 2016, came second in the 2004 edition, reached the semi-finals in 1984, 2000 and 2012 and in the last edition they stopped in the round of 16. The Czech Republic coached by Ivan Hasek achieved a second place in its first participation in 1996, was a semi-finalist in 2004 and reached the quarter-finals in the last edition. There are five precedents between the two teams with four victories for the Portuguese team and one for the Czechs. Portugal deploys the 3-4-3 with Diogo Costa between the posts, Ruben Dias and Nuno Mendes as defensive laterals and Pepe in the centre, four-man midfield with Diogo Dalot and Joao Cancelo as wingers and Vitinha and Bruno Fernandes in the middle and a trident with Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo and the “Milan fan” Leao. The Czech Republic responds with the 3-5-2 or Stanek between the posts, three-man defense with Holes and Krekj at the sides and Hranak at the centre, Soucek in front of the defence, three-quarters with Coufal and Doudera on the flanks and Provod and Sulc at the centres, Schick and Kuchta in attack. The race is directed by Mr. Marco Guida, an Italian from Torre Annunziata.
FIRST HALF – In the 7th minute Portugal proposes a challenge with a corner from Vitinha but Kuchta clears the ball away from the Czech area. In the 8th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo’s header was inaccurate from Leao’s cross, the first goal-scoring opportunity wasted by Portugal. In the 19th minute Bruno Fernandes saw his cross cleared for a corner by Coufal. In the 24th minute Bruno Fernandes tries again from the edge but his shot is deflected into a corner again. In the 26th minute, Bruno Fernandes, very proactive, catches Leao in the area from the right who, however, does not connect with a slide, making a good scoring opportunity disappear for the Portuguese team who dominated the first part of the match. In the 32nd minute, Cristiano Ronaldo, thrown in deep, shoots badly at Stanek from close range, catches Vitinha but finishes on the Czech goalkeeper. Two more scoring opportunities for a Portugal team that dominates the match but is unable to capitalize on what it created. In the 37th minute the first counterattack from the Czech Republic arrives but Schick fails to connect a cross from the right, making a good opportunity disappear. In the 38th minute Leao naively received a yellow card after simulating a fall due to an alleged foul by Soucek. In the 46th minute Cristiano Ronaldo challenges Stanek in a rebound with a diagonal shot. The first half ends goalless despite a monologue from Portugal unable to translate the many opportunities created into precise conclusions.
SECOND HALF – In the 2nd minute Dalot tries from the edge but finishes over the crossbar. Portugal close to scoring at the start of the second half. The intense rain that characterized the first half continues. In the 5th minute Schick makes something halfway between a shot and a cross but finishes wide of the Portuguese goal. In the 10th minute Portugal became dangerous with a header from Cristiano Ronaldo following a cross from Ruben Dias which ended high. The Portuguese continue to maintain a superior performance. In the 13th minute, a weak central free kick from Cristiano Ronaldo which Stanek had no problem intervening on. In the 17th minute the Czech Republic unexpectedly took the lead with the first shot of their match with a shot from the edge of the area by Provod, his diagonal leaving Diogo Costa no chance. Martinez pulls the dull Diogo Dalot and Leao out of the mix to try to liven up the attack with Diogo Jota and Gonzalo Ignacio. In the 24th minute, Portugal equalized with Nuno Mendes’ header inadvertently deflected into his own goal by Hranac. In the 27th minute, Portugal almost took the lead with a diagonal shot from Bernardo Silva, who did well to take advantage of the naivety of a Czech defender, who was blocked with his fists by Stanek. In the 30th minute Diogo Jota controls well but his diagonal shot is called for Stanek. Portugal determined to pocket the full post. In the 33rd minute Vitinha tries from the edge but his shot is deflected for a corner by Stanek. In the 37th minute, the Czech Republic was close to taking the lead again with a shot wide by Soucek from the edge. In the 42nd minute, Portugal would take the lead with a header from Diogo Jota who reiterates into the net a rebound from the post following a previous header from Cristiano Ronaldo, Guida consults the VAR and cancels it for the former Juventus player to be offside. In the 46th minute Francisco Conceicao receives from the left from Pedro Leto and, taking advantage of Hranac’s imperfect control, scores past Stanek after having just entered, giving the Portuguese team the lead in full stoppage time. And Portugal can celebrate.
SCORESHEET
PORTUGAL- CZECH REPUBLIC 2-1
PORTUGAL: Diogo Costa, Ruben Dias, Pepe, Nuno Mendes (44’st Pedro Leto), Diogo Dalot (18’st Gonzalo Ignacio), Vitinha (44’st Francisco Conceicao), Bruno Fernandes, Joao Cancelo (44’st Nelson Semedo ), Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo, Leao (18’st Diogo Jota). Coach Roberto Martinez.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Stanek, Holes (48’st Chory), Hranac, Krejci, Soucek, Coufal, Provod (34’st Barak), Sulc (34’st Sevcik), Doudera, Schick (16’st Chytil), Kuchta (16 ‘st Lingr). All. Ivan Hasek.
Referee: Marco Guida (Italy)
Scorers: st: 17′ Provod (RC), 24′ Hranac (RC) (Aut). St: 46′ Francisco Conceicao (P)
